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News Release

HHS AWARDS $11.6 MILLION IN GRANTS TO IMPROVE ACCESS
TO POTENTIALLY LIFE-SAVING DEFIBRILLATORS IN RURAL COMMUNITIES

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced $11.6 million in grants to increase access to on-the-spot help for people who suffer heart attacks in rural America

"These grants will help rural communities buy automated external defibrillators, which have the ability to save the lives of people suffering heart attacks," Secretary Thompson said. "By helping communities purchase these devices and train emergency workers to use them, we are helping improve the odds for people who have heart attacks far from a hospital."

The Rural Access to Emergency Devices Grants will go to rural communities in 49 states and the U.S. territory of Guam to purchase FDA-approved automated external defibrillators and train emergency and community personnel in their proper use. Automatic defibrillators are lightweight, portable devices, which provide an electrical shock capable of restoring the normal heart rhythm of cardiac arrest victims, greatly improving chances of survival.

The grant program is administered by HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), through its Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. Grant funds go first to state agencies, which are an integral part of community partnerships with emergency medical services, fire and rescue services, health clinics, nursing homes and schools.

"Spreading the benefits of these devices to people wherever they live is an important part of HRSA's commitment to improving the health and well-being of Americans who live in remote rural and frontier areas," says HRSA Administrator Elizabeth M. Duke.

A list of grantees follows:

Rural Access to Emergency Devices Act Grant Program, FY 2003
Organization	City	State	Award
Alabama Department of Public Health	Montgomery	Ala.	$230,684
Alaska Dept. of Health and Social Services	Juneau	Alaska	$265,168
Arizona Department of Health Services	Phoenix	Ariz.	$209,438
Arkansas Department of Health	Little Rock	Ark.	$270,981
California Emergency Medical Services Authority	Sacramento	Calif.	$199,296
Colorado Rural Health Center	Denver	Colo.	$223,709
Connecticut Department of Public Health	Hartford	Conn.	$157,147
Delaware Dept. of Emergency Medical Services	Dover	Del.	$177,513
Florida Department of Health	Tallahassee	Fla.	$215,021
Georgia Department of Human Resources	Atlanta	Ga.	$269,642
Guam Department of Public Health	Agana	Guam	$50,000
Hawaii Department of Health	Honolulu	Hawaii	$207,010
Idaho Department of Health and Welfare	Boise	Idaho	$260,000
Illinois Department of Public Health	Springfield	Ill.	$234,952
Hoosier Uplands Economic Development Corp.	Mitchell	Ind.	$250,014
Iowa Department of Public Health	Des Moines	Iowa	$271,182
Kansas Board of Emergency Medical Services	Topeka	Kan.	$259,834
Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services	Frankfort	Ky.	$313,138
Louisiana Dept. of Health and Hospitals, Office of Public Health, Bureau of EMS	Baton Rouge	La.	$241,025
Maine Emergency Medical Services	Augusta	Maine	$274,316
Massachusetts Dept of Public Health	Boston	Mass.	$166,504
Maryland Institute for EMS	Baltimore	Md.	$200,186
Michigan Department of Consumer & Industry Services	Lansing	Mich.	$258,652
Minnesota Emergency Medical Services Regulatory Board	Minneapolis	Minn.	$250,308
Mississippi State Department of Health	Jackson	Miss.	$276,468
Missouri Dept. of Health and Senior Services	Jefferson City	Mo.	$245,076
Dept. of Public Health and Human Services	Helena	Mont.	$275,341
Nebraska State Department of Health	Lincoln	Neb.	$216,330
Board of Regents, Univ. of Nevada, Reno	Reno	Nev.	$172,039
State of New Hampshire	Concord	N.H.	$218,173
American Red Cross of Central New Jersey	Princeton	N.J.	$156,003
New Mexico Department of Health	Santa Fe	N.M.	$252,760
Health Research, Inc.	Rensselaer	N.Y.	$232,540
N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services	Raleigh	N.C.	$276,593
University of North Dakota	Grand Forks	N.D.	$231,239
Ohio Department of Public Safety	Columbus	Ohio	$240,681
Oklahoma State Department of Health	Oklahoma City	Okla.	$242,367
Department of Human Resources	Portland	Ore.	$227,260
Pennsylvania State Department of Health	Harrisburg	Pa.	$263,903
South Carolina Office of Rural Health	Columbia	S.C.	$228,190
South Dakota Department of Public Safety	Pierre	S.D.	$213,330
Tennessee Department of Health	Nashville	Tenn.	$279,323
Texas Office of Rural Community Affairs	Austin	Texas	$244,110
Utah Department of Health	Salt Lake City	Utah	$221,701
State of Vermont	Burlington	Vt.	$250,000
Virginia Department of Health	Lakeside	Va.	$230,583
State of Washington	Olympia	Wash.	$222,288
W.Va. Dept. of Health & Human Resources	Charleston	W.Va.	$256,241
Department of Health and Family Services	Madison	Wis.	$241,006
Wyoming Department of Health	Cheyenne	Wyo.	$259,734
TOTAL:			$11,628,999

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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

Last Revised: September 24, 2003