Flint Hills Community Health Center is one of 10 primary care safety net clinics in Kansas that have been awarded funds from the state of Kansas to improve facilities, technology and equipment through a capital grant program.
The Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved announced that the 2008 Kansas Legislature appropriated $700,000 to increase the capacity of safety net clinics so more underserved Kansans can receive care. Clinics from around the state submitted proposals to purchase equipment, renovate or expand, construct new buildings or purchase major health information technology such as electronic medical records.
Flint Hills Community Health Center has received $74,253. The funds will be used for the switch to electronic medical records, said Lougene Marsh, executive director of the center. The center requested the Capital Improvement Grant funds, to be combined with a local match of $84,253, to purchase, implement and use the electronic medical record system, according to the original grant proposal provided by Marsh.
The Kansas Association of the Medically Underserved coordinated the proposals and decision-making activities, according to a press release. The organization represents 41 primary care safety net clinics in Kansas that serve the uninsured or underinsured.
“We are grateful to our state legislators for their support,” said Cathy Harding , KAMU’s executive director. “Due to the rapid growth in the number of patients served by the clinics, they understood that an ongoing increase in patients could not be maintained without some investment in facilities, workforce and knowledge base.”
The funding for capital improvements was one component of the Legislature’s appropriation for the primary care safety net.
“We received 20 applications requesting $1.4 million, but only had $700,000 to distribute,” Harding noted. “That’s a testament to the tremendous need these clinics have. I estimate that two-thirds of our members are either planning expansions or already have expansions underway.”