(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - The Prince of Wales Health Network recently received word that it has been selected for another three- year Rural Health Network Development Grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP). The grant awards $254,000 in the first year to fund operations and the full grant awards just over $800,000 to the program.

“I’m so pleased to hear that we’ve receive this important grant funding,” said Michele Budd from PeaceHealth, the applicant agency for the grant and a member of the POW Health Network. “With the local funding we’ve already secured, this grant award will allow us to continue operating the Network in full-force and to move forward on some key initiatives in the near future such as more robust diabetes prevention and education programming across the island.”

This photo is from last Health Fair in Craig in April, The Health Fair is sponsored by the POW Health Network. Pat Chapman with the Alaska Brain Injury Network is show here talking with one of the visitors to the fair.
Photo courtesy PH Ketchikan Medical Center

Identified as a both a Medically Underserved Area (MUA) as well as a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA), the POW Health Network was established in 2008 after receiving its first 3-year grant from HRSA. The purpose and mission of the grant has been to bring together all of the health care professionals to build collaborative relationships, work together to develop and enhance integrated systems of care across Prince of Wales Island, and identify and fill any services gaps in the area. The POW Health Network also received a subsequent 3-year grant from HRSA in 2011.

One of the original goals of the program was also to ensure the sustainability of the network to continue the work in the future. In recent months, the Network has been working with local agencies, governments, non-profits and individuals to do that; with or without HRSA grant funding.

The last Health Fair in Craig featured health information from many groups such as ABIN as well as a number of health screenings including blood draws as pictured.
Photo courtesy PH Medical Clinic

“I’m really proud of the way the POW communities have stepped up to show their support for this program,” said Program Director Gretchen Klein. “We were not certain the HRSA funding would come through this year but our partners and communities have spoken: this program is important to the way we provide healthcare on Prince of Wales. They have stepped forward to make sure the work continues.”

During its first six years, the Network has strengthen the Prince of Wales (POW) Island Health Network by regularly meeting together with representatives from the local health care organizations which had been operating in almost complete isolation from each other; providing unneeded duplication of services in some instances and leaving significant gaps in services in other areas. Identifying the overlap and the gaps as well as the key needs of the population they serve, the Network partners are now strategically planning to meet the Island’s needs and work collaboratively on a number of initiatives including: boosting vaccination rates, improving behavioral health services, solidifying after-hours emergency services, linking services with Veteran’s organizations, and enhancing community disease screening and prevention opportunities.

“Receiving these grant resources will enhance the efforts Prince of Wales Health Network as they work with residents and organizations around the island,” said Ken Owen, owner of Papa’s Pizza in Craig and member of the PeaceHealth Governing Board. “I look forward to seeing what we will continue to accomplish as we work together.”

Source of News: 

PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center
www.peacehealth.org/ketchikan

Prince of Wales Health Network

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