HRSA Awards More Than $3.1 Million to Improve Health Care in Rural Communities
HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) today announced 16 new grants totaling $3.1 million to encourage greater coordination of services and more partnerships in delivering health care in rural communities.
“The funds will help rural providers improve the delivery of vital health care services to local residents,” HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said. “By building rural health partnerships, health care professionals will be better able to reach their skills and services into the most isolated parts of the nation, where the need is great and resources often are scarce.”
Eleven Rural Health Outreach Grants, totaling more than $2.1 million, support coalitions of at least three health-related organizations to stimulate innovation in rural health care delivery. Schools, churches, emergency medical service providers, local universities and private practitioners work together, for example, to bring rural communities hospice and prenatal care, expand checkups for children, and supply prescription drugs and providers’ salaries when needed. One new Outreach project will provide in-home parenting support to 60 families in rural northeastern New Mexico for the first three years of their children’s lives to promote physical and mental health and reduce child abuse and neglect.
Five Rural Health Network Development Grants, totaling just under $1 million, support efforts to strengthen health care networks, also of at least three local providers, by integrating clinical, administrative, financial and information technology systems among participating organizations. Grant funds may be used to hire staff, contract with technical experts and buy equipment, but cannot pay for direct patient services. A Network project serving remote northern New Hampshire plans to improve the skills of local health professionals by using telehealth technology to air live, televised training sessions from distant hospitals or universities.
“The cost-sharing and resource-sharing enabled by both sets of grants exemplify the kind of collaboration the Department and HRSA support, not only in rural America, but in America’s cities and towns as well,” says HRSA Administrator Elizabeth M. Duke.
HRSA has funded 631 Rural Outreach Grants since 1991, totaling more than $303 million, and 137 Rural Network Development Grants since 1997, worth more than $53 million.
Tables listing Rural Health Outreach and Network Development grant recipients follow:
FY 2004 Rural Health Outreach Grant Program
|
Organization
|
City
|
State
|
Award
|
Tanner Medical Foundation
|
Carrollton
|
Ga.
|
$200,000
|
Warren Achievement Center, Inc.
|
Monmouth
|
Ill.
|
$165,836
|
Crisis Intervention Services
|
Oskaloosa
|
Iowa
|
$195,076
|
Northwest Iowa Mental Health Center
|
Spencer
|
Iowa
|
$195,644
|
Marcum and Wallace Memorial Hospital
|
Irvine
|
Ky.
|
$200,000
|
Murray State University
|
Murray
|
Ky.
|
$187,150
|
Northeast Health
|
Rockport
|
Maine
|
$199,913
|
Marquette General Hospital
|
Marquette
|
Mich.
|
$199,910
|
Frontier Education Center, Inc.
|
Chamisal
|
N.M.
|
$198,651
|
Mora / Colfax Head Start
|
Holman
|
N.M.
|
$192,003
|
Chenango Memorial Hospital
|
Norwich
|
N.Y.
|
$200,000
|
|
|
TOTAL:
|
$2,134,183
|
FY 2004 Rural Health Network Development Program
|
Organization
|
City
|
State
|
Award
|
Rural Health Network of Monroe County Inc.
|
Key West
|
Fla.
|
$200,000
|
Sioux Central Community School
|
Sioux Rapids
|
Iowa
|
$199,723
|
North Country Health Consortium Inc.
|
Littleton
|
N.H.
|
$198,863
|
Waterfall Clinic Inc.
|
Coos Bay
|
Ore.
|
$180,035
|
Jasper Newton County Public Health District
|
Jasper
|
Texas
|
$199,787
|
|
|
TOTAL:
|
$978,408
|
|