FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, April 24, 2007 |
CONTACT:
HRSA PRESS OFFICE
301-443-3376 |
HRSA Administrator Awards $1.8 Million
to Expand Services at Mississippi Health Center
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Administrator Elizabeth
M. Duke today announced three grants totaling more than $1.8 million
to increase access to health care services for low-income and uninsured
patients, and ensure the availability of comprehensive primary medical
care for HIV-positive patients in Mississippi.
“These funds will help Southeast Mississippi Rural Health Initiative
Inc. expand services to an additional county and 11,000 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
Mississippi’s health care safety net.”
Southeast Mississippi Rural Health Initiative, Inc. will use the funds
from HRSA as follows:
- The Expanded Medical Capacity (EMC) grant, in the amount of $600,000
annually, will expand operations by hiring additional staff and extending
clinic hours into the evenings and weekends;
- The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act of 2006 Part
C grant, in the amount of $556,754 annually, will provide early intervention
HIV/AIDS care and services to medically underserved populations in
16 counties across Mississippi; and
- The New Access Point grant, in the amount of $650,000 annually,
will extend health care services to more low-income, uninsured Americans
living in Pearl River County, Mississippi.
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 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: Kaye Ray, CEO of the Southeast Mississippi Rural Health Initiative Inc.;
Robert Moore, M.D., Medical Director; Frankie Thomas, Chair of the Board of Directors;
and HRSA Administrator Elizabeth M. Duke.
#
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.
|
