Hospital authority awarded $30,450 health care grant

The Sequoyah County-City of Sallisaw Hospital Authority last week at the state capitol received more than $30,000 in funding from the Emergency Rural Health Care grant program.

Kenneth Corn, USDA Rural Development Oklahoma state director, announced the second round of Emergency Rural Health Care grant funding in the amount of $4.6 million to support 12 rural communities around the state.

Oklahoma has received $11.2 million out of the $127 million given to rural providers nationwide since the program’s first round more than a year ago.

Corn said each state received an allocation, and the round announced Friday is leftover funds.

The county-city hospital authority was awarded $30,450.

The rural development investment will be used to purchase patient monitors and automated hematology equipment. The current monitors and hematology equipment are more than 10 years old and not performing at capacity.

More than $4.6 million in grants was earmarked to assist 12 communities expand access to healthcare as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda.

“The Biden-Harris Administration has delivered for rural Oklahoma when it comes to ensuring our small rural towns and tribal communities can have access to safe and reliable healthcare,” Corn said. “USDA’s Emergency Rural Health Care grants program has played a key role in strengthening rural Oklahoma’s health care infrastructure and building capacity for the future.”

The USDA has awarded $129 million in Emergency Rural Health Care grants to improve health care facilities in rural towns across the nation. These grants will help 172 rural health care organizations expand critical services.

The investments will help regional partnerships, public bodies, nonprofits and Tribes solve regional rural health care challenges. These solutions will build a stronger, more sustainable rural health care system for the nation’s small towns and communities.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how vital it is to invest in rural healthcare,” Corn said. “I am thankful that under the leadership of President Biden we are delivering real results for rural Oklahomans that are making an impact today and in the future for better health outcomes in our communities.”

This funding is made possible by President Biden’s historic legislative package, the American Rescue Plan Act. The legislation and this program are examples of the government’s ability to respond quickly to ensure every person and family has access to highquality health care.

“This doesn’t really do anything to solve what is the chronic crisis on funding to keep the doors open, but what this grant does is allow them to do some things that they probably couldn’t afford to do,” Corn said. “In one hospital, they are upgrading their MRI. In the other hospitals, they are doing vital technology that is needed to improve quality of care.”

Some hospitals that took advantage of this grant early on, Corn said, bought new servers that would allow them to see patients in the parking lot and test them before they came into the hospital and potentially exposed other patients.

“Hospitals had to apply for this grant or any type of medical system,” Corn said. “We had several EMS and fire departments that got money through this grant, which we ended up buying ambulances for or defibrillators.”

Corn said this portion is the last of the funding that is part of the American Rescue Plan Act.

“He (President Biden) set aside some money specifically for rural healthcare, and we have exhausted those funds that were in there,” Corn said.

Corn said he is hopeful that in the future, Congress will consider dropping the “emergency” portion of the Emergency Rural Health Care Grants program and create a rural health care grant.

Corn also talked about other grants available for Oklahomans.

“Right now, we have what is called the Rural Energy for American Program,” Corn said. “It is a very good grant program for small businesses located in a rural area, or an Ag producer who can show that 50 percent of their income comes from the farm. That money actually can be used to do energy efficiencies to their businesses.”

The Rural Energy for America Program funds will be distributed in rounds, Corn said, and the current round will close on Sept. 30. The next round will be open on Oct. 1.

“This is everyone’s money, so whether Joe Biden is president or somebody else, it is your money,” Corn said.

The USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the leadership of the Biden-Harris Administration, the USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America.

In addition to the Sequoyah County-City of Sallisaw Housing Authority, the 11 other recipients of the Emergency Rural Health Care grants include Atoka County EMS, Choctaw County Ambulance Authority, city of Elmore City, Grady Memorial Hospital Authority, Hughes County EMS, Johnston County EMS, Kiowa County Hospital Authority, McAlester Regional Healthcare Authority, Mercy Ada, Mercy Tishomingo and Mercy Watonga.