The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) www.hrsa.gov on August 3rd, awarded $2.7 million in grants for two pilot programs to improve healthcare in rural communities. The three year grants will provide rural communities an opportunity to collaborate in training allied health professionals and help expand health insurance coverage.
The “Rural Network Allied Health Training Program”, funded at $1,994,150 will support ten awards for budget requests up to $200,000 in eight states. Plans are to develop networks to improve rural healthcare through recruitment, clinical training, and retention of allied health professionals.
Emphasis will be on integrated rural health networks that will partner with local community colleges and other accredited educational institutions to develop formal clinical training programs for allied health professional students.
The “Rural Outreach Benefits Counseling Program” funded at $749,915 will support ten projects in nine states with budget requests up to $75,000 each. The program is designed to expand health insurance outreach, education, and enrollment efforts to eligible uninsured individuals and families, help educate the newly insured about their benefits, and connect the individuals to primary and preventive services.
The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy www.hrsa.gov/ruralhealth/index.html manages both programs at HRSA. Go to www.hrsa.gov/about/news/pressreleases/150803ruralhealth.htm for the complete list of grantees for both pilot programs.