Topeka, Kan. – On Aug. 27, the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) awarded three grants totaling more than $1.3 million to expand Kansas health centers that provide care for the medically underserved.

GraceMed Health Clinic, Inc. in Wichita received a $483,333 New Access Point Grant Award, one of 41 grants nationwide to health care organizations in areas where more primary medical care is needed. This is the first installment of a three-year grant.

The Kansas Association for Medically Underserved (KAMU) in Topeka received an $80,000 High Poverty County Planning Grant Award to conduct a study in Anderson County in preparation for a possible health center.

A $750,000 Electronic Health Record Implementation Initiative Grant will help four Kansas health centers implement health information technology. This is the first installment of a three-year grant.

New Access Point and Expanded Capacity Grants

GraceMed is the fourth Kansas clinic and KAMU member to receive federal community health center funding in 2007, bringing the total for new and expanded services to more than $2.3 million. In May, HRSA awarded a $555,067 New Access Point grant to PrairieStar Health Center in Hutchinson. Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas in Pittsburg received a $716,667 New Access Point grant to establish a new site in Cherokee County, and Swope Health Services in Kansas City received a $500,000 Expanded Medical Capacity grant to add obstetrical services in Wyandotte County.

These awards are intended to help Americans – many with no health insurance – obtain access to comprehensive primary and preventive health care services. Health centers provide care regardless of a person’s ability to pay, with charges for services set according to income.

“Receipt of these competitive grants is excellent news for Kansas. It takes years of hard work to win one of these awards, and the funding will make a difference for our state’s medically underserved for years to come,” said Anthony Wellever, interim executive director of KAMU.

“The health center program is an incredibly effective model of care in terms of both quality and cost,” Wellever added. “Health centers reduce use of emergency rooms and avoidable hospitalizations. Their patients have improved health outcomes, especially those with chronic diseases like diabetes, and health disparities among racial and ethnic groups are reduced.”

Health centers also provide oral and mental health services to people who have limited or no access to care. Many health center patients have no insurance coverage, while others have inadequate coverage. In Kansas, an estimated 300,000 people are uninsured. The number of persons in the state who are underinsured – unable to afford the cost of insurance deductibles and co-payments – is not known.

High Poverty County Planning Grant

The planning grant to KAMU is one of 25 awards given nationwide. KAMU will study the feasibility of creating a health center in Anderson County, which HRSA identified as a high poverty county. It is also designated as a Medically Underserved Population for the population at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL). Over one-third (35 percent) of Anderson County’s residents are below 200 percent FPL. For a family of four, that represents an average annual income of $41,300.

In addition, Anderson County has been designated as a Health Professional Shortage Area and Dental Health Professional Shortage Area for persons below 200 percent FPL, and as a Mental Health Professional Shortage Area for the entire geographic area of the county.

Electronic Health Record Implementation Initiative Grant

Four KAMU members will benefit from the federal award to Health Choice Network in Miami, Fla. The grant will help health centers in three states implement electronic health records, including these Kansas health centers: Flint Hills Community Health Center, Emporia; GraceMed Clinic, Inc., Wichita; PrairieStar Community Health Center, Hutchinson; and We Care Project, Great Bend.

“Health information technology has the potential to revolutionize health care, especially for residents of underserved communities, and its expansion is a priority for HRSA,” said HRSA Administrator Elizabeth M. Duke.

KAMU’s mission is to promote accessibility to high quality, culturally sensitive, comprehensive and cost-effective primary health care services for the medically underserved in the state, regardless of their ability to pay. It represents 33 primary care safety net clinics across Kansas, including 12 federally funded health centers. These clinics provided care for more than 148,000 people in 2006. Some 57 percent of these clients are uninsured, while 93 percent of them live at or near the poverty level (with an income below 200 percent FPL).

HRSA is part of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, the primary Federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated or medically vulnerable.