U.S. Department of Health & Human Services |
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News Release
HHS Awards Grants to Support Minority HealthGrants Support Better Access to Medical and Mental Health Care HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced the award of more than $12 million to support minority individuals, families, and children affected by the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. The grants will support greater access to health and behavioral health care services, assistance through faith-based and community organizations, and enhanced communications through minority media outlets. �During times of crisis, for many Americans, faith-based and community organizations have been among those compassionate helping hands reaching out to those who need it most,� Secretary Leavitt said. �These awards will ensure that Hurricane Katrina evacuees, minorities in particular, have knowledge of and access to the health care and counseling they may need.� Through these grants, an aggressive outreach effort will be initiated through faith-based and community organizations, other organizations known to racial and ethnic minorities, and minority media outlets to further facilitate engagement of displaced families and individuals in health and behavioral health care services. �Minority communities are among those most highly impacted by the terrible destruction of Hurricane Katrina,� said Dr. Garth Graham, HHS deputy assistant secretary for minority health. �With the announcement of these awards, we are partnering with key institutions in the African American, Hispanic, and Asian communities to bring desperately needed health care services, information, and hope to the rebuilding effort.� The National Institute of Health�s (NIH) National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) will play a large role in the relief efforts. The NCMHD promotes minority health, leads, coordinates, supports, and assesses the NIH effort to reduce and ultimately eliminate health disparities. �Community involvement and partnerships are vital components in confronting any crisis,� said Dr. John Ruffin, NCMHD director. �The NCMHD Health Disparities Centers of Excellence has a strong cadre of institutions including Historically Black Colleges and Universities with a solid community outreach base. Together, they bring the vast expertise needed -- great science, cultural sensitivity, community trust and credibility to the arduous task of relief and reconstruction in health disparity communities devastated by Katrina.� Specifically, the grants will include:
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Last revised: September 30, 2005