(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - Rural health providers across the nation will receive more than $10.4 million to provide direct health care services to their communities. The funding announced last week by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will be used to meet a broad range of health care needs in rural areas, from health promotion and disease prevention to expanding oral and mental health services.

Among the 70 nationwide receiving this rural health services outreach grant, is PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center in the amount of $444,413.00. Ketchikan Medical Center is the only recipient in Alaska.

Each of 70 grantees nationwide will receive approximately $450,000 over a 3-year project period to address the needs of a wide range of population groups including, but not limited to, low-income families and individuals, the elderly, pregnant women, infants, adolescents, minorities and individuals with special health care needs.

Funding is distributed through HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the primary federal agency for improving health care access for people who are uninsured, isolated or medically vulnerable.

"Access to quality and affordable health care should not be determined by where you live," said Secretary Sebelius. "These grants are a continuation of our effort to ensure that rural providers are able to meet the needs of their communities."

"Rural areas face unique issues and challenges," said HRSA Administrator Mary Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N. "But that makes them ideal for developing innovative solutions and creating models that can be replicated elsewhere. As rural communities forge these systemic improvements, they set an example for the delivery of high quality health care regardless of where one lives across the United States."

Source of News: 

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
www.hrsa.gov

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