FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, April 10, 2007 |
CONTACT:
HRSA PRESS OFFICE
301-443-3376 |
HRSA Administrator Awards $1.2 Million
to Expand Services at Two Nebraska Health Centers
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Administrator Elizabeth M. Duke today announced grants worth almost $1.2 million to increase access to health care services in Omaha as part of President Bush’s multi-year strategy to expand community health centers nationwide.
“Today’s funds will help these two Omaha health centers expand services to 8,500 more patients than they currently treat,” Dr. Duke said. “Across the nation, health centers provide vital medical services to millions of Americans who really need care, and the grants we’re making today will strengthen Omaha’s health care safety net.”
Dr. Duke traveled to Omaha to present Expanded Medical Capacity (EMC) grants to these local health centers:
- Charles Drew Medical Clinic Inc., which will receive an annual award of $586,616 to expand its existing health care for the homeless operations. These funds will help the center treat 3,000 more patients annually.
- One World Community Health Center, which will receive an annual award of $600,000 to expand services to 5,500 children, adolescents, women and young mothers, and elderly patients.
Expanding health center services is a key element of the Bush administration’s plan to increase access to care for the nation’s medically underserved individuals. EMC grants expand primary health care services by making it possible for health centers to serve more people.
HRSA manages the Consolidated Health Center Program, which funds a national network of more than 3,800 clinics comprised of community health centers, migrant health centers, health care for the homeless centers and public housing primary care centers. These health centers deliver preventive and primary care services to patients regardless of their ability to pay; charges for health care services are set according to income. Almost 40 percent of the patients treated at health centers have no insurance coverage and others have inadequate coverage.
Since President Bush announced his Health Center Growth Initiative in 2001, HRSA has awarded 900 grants to create new health center sites or expand operations at existing centers, and the number of patients treated annually has risen from 10.3 million in 2001 to 14.1 million in 2005.
Pictured from left: HRSA Administrator Elizabeth M. Duke with
One World Community Health Center Personnel: Dr. Kristine McVea, Medical Director;
Lori Bechtold, Development Director; and Andrea Skolkin, CEO
Pictured from left: HRSA Administrator Elizabeth M. Duke;
Charles Drew Medical Clinic Inc., CEO Dr. Richard Brown; and Congressman Lee Terry
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The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), part of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated, or medically vulnerable. For more information about HRSA and its programs, visit www.hrsa.gov.
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