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HHS AWARDS MORE THAN $775,000 TO IMPROVE HEALTH CARE HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced three grants totaling $775,452 to help strengthen the health care safety net for Alaskans. The funding is targeted to improving health care services and also recruiting and training dental health aides and behavioral health providers in Alaska. “Health care is extremely limited in frontier areas of Alaska,” Secretary Thompson said. “These grants look at alternative methods of providing general health and dental services in small villages by specially trained aides. These programs should prove invaluable in helping improve access to quality care for rural Alaskans.” The Wrangell Medical Center, a city-run hospital of less than 15 beds, received an $11,000 Small Hospital Performance Improvement program grant to address Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements and other quality issues. The Bethel-based Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation Dental Health Aide Program, received $500,000 to support the training of dental health aides in primary care dental services. The Dental Health Aide Program seeks to create a dental health aide training program for up to 16 providers in a range of services; provide support for faculty and purchase dental equipment; and enable aides to travel among the villages. “Anyone who has traveled in rural Alaska knows the dental problems faced there with no access to dentists. These funds will help put smiles on the faces of countless Alaskans,” Alaska Senator Ted Stevens said. The University of Alaska Anchorage received $264,452 to increase and improve the size and quality of Alaska’s behavioral health workforce. Specifically, the University’s Alaska Center for Rural Health will establish the Alaska Behavioral Health Careers Program. This program is designed to increase the number of behavioral health providers by supporting and encouraging disadvantaged students to pursue behavioral health degrees and careers. Secretary Thompson made this announcement while visiting the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Regional Hospital in Bethel, Alaska. Funding for the grants announced today comes from HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). # # # |
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