Hhs Releases $3.1 Million For Rural Health Care

HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has announced 16 new grants totaling $3.1 million to encourage greater coordination of services and more partnerships in delivering health care in rural communities.

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.

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.

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.

Grant winners by organization, city, state and dollar amount are:

FY 2004 Rural Health Outreach Grant Program

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

FY2004 Rural Health Network Development Grants

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