Health Centers Land ACA Funds
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded a total of nearly $700,000 in Affordable Care Act funding to 18 health centers in Indiana. The funding is a reward to centers that ranked high in areas including chronic disease management and preventive care.
December 9, 2014
News Release
Washington D.C. — Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell today announced $687,468 in Affordable Care Act funding to 18 health centers in Indiana to recognize health center quality improvement achievements and invest in ongoing quality improvement activities. Indiana health centers receiving awards today are proven leaders in areas such as chronic disease management, preventive care and the use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) to report quality data.
“This funding rewards Indiana health centers that have a proven track record in clinical quality improvement, which translates to better patient care, and it allows them to expand and improve their systems and infrastructure to bring the highest quality primary care services to the communities they serve,” said Secretary Burwell.
“With these funds, health centers in Indiana will continue to provide access to high quality, comprehensive primary and preventive health care to the patients that need it the most.”
Indiana Health centers receiving these funds are being recognized for high levels of quality performance in one or more of the following categories.
–Health center quality leaders received awards if they were among the top 30 percent of all health centers that achieved the best overall clinical outcomes, demonstrating their ability to focus on quality in all aspects of their clinical operations; 7 Indiana health centers received funding in this category for approximately $193,432.
–National quality leaders received awards for exceeding national clinical benchmarks (Healthy People 2020 objectives and health center national averages) for chronic disease management, preventive care, and perinatal/prenatal care, demonstrating the critical role that health centers play in promoting higher quality health care nationwide; 1 Indiana health centers received funding in this category for approximately $88,580.
–Clinical quality improvers received awards if they demonstrated at least a 10 percent improvement in clinical quality measures between 2012 and 2013, showing a significant improvement in the health of the patients they serve; 18 Indiana health centers received funding in this category for approximately $315,454.
–Electronic Health Record reporters received funding if they used EHRs to report clinical quality measure data on all of their patients, a key transformational step in driving quality improvement for all health center patients across the nation; 6 Indiana health centers received funding in this category for approximately $90,000.
“These funds reward and support those health centers that have taken steps to achieve the highest levels of clinical quality performance and improvement,” said Health and Resources Administration (HRSA) Administrator Mary K. Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N.
In Indiana, 23 HRSA-supported health centers operate more than 118 service delivery sites that provide care to nearly 364,112 patients. Nationally, nearly 1,300 HRSA-supported health centers operate more than 9,200 service delivery sites that provide care to nearly 22 million patients in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Pacific Basin.
For a list of FY 2015 Quality Improvement Awards recipients, visit www.hrsa.gov/about/news/2014tables/qualityimprovement/.
To learn more about the Affordable Care Act and Community Health Centers, visit http://bphc.hrsa.gov/about/healthcenterfactsheet.pdf.
To learn more about HRSA’s Community Health Center Program, visit http://bphc.hrsa.gov/about/index.html.
To find a health center in your area, visit http://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Health And Human Services