HRSA Administrator Awards $1.8 Million to Expand Services at Mississippi Health Center

	U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration HRSA NEWS ROOM http://newsroom.hrsa.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 12, 2007

CONTACT: HRSA PRESS OFFICE
301-443-3376

HRSA Administrator Awards $1.1 Million to Expand Services at Florida Health Center

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Administrator Elizabeth M. Duke today announced two grants totaling more than $1.1 million to increase access to health care services for low-income and uninsured patients and ensure the availability of comprehensive primary medical care in Florida.

“These funds will help Health Care Center for the Homeless expand services to an additional county and 3,000 more patients than they currently treat,” Dr. Duke said. “Health centers provide vital medical services to millions of Americans who cannot otherwise obtain needed care, and the grants we’re making today will strengthen Florida’s health care safety net.”

Health Care Center for the Homeless will use the funds from HRSA as follows:

An Expanded Medical Capacity grant, in the amount of $481,667, will expand operations by hiring additional staff and extending clinic hours into the evenings and weekends; and
A New Access Point grant, in the amount of $624,061, will improve the health status of homeless individuals and make the services of the health center more accessible by operating a mobile medical unit. This mobile unit -- staffed by nurse practitioners, a licensed clinical social worker, and medical assistants -- will deliver preventive, primary medical care and mental health services to the homeless population where they live and congregate.

HRSA manages the 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 1,100 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 an estimated 14.8 million in 2006.

Pictured are HRSA Administrator Elizabeth M. Duke and Bakari Burns, CEO of the Health Care Center for the Homeless.
Pictured from left: HRSA Administrator Elizabeth M. Duke and Bakari Burns,
CEO of the Health Care Center for the Homeless.

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.