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UnitedHealthcare Awards $234,000 in Grants to Improve Access to Care in Rural KansasUnitedHealthcare awarded four grants this week to local community organizations that are improving access to health care for Kansans living in rural areas. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170818005444/en/ Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer addressed the crowd during the presentation of two Frontier Rural Health Care grants to Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas and Southeast Kansas Independent Living Center in Pittsburg, Kansas on Aug. 16, 2017. UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Kansas CEO Kevin Sparks, Southeast Kansas Independent Living Center CEO and President Shari Coatney and Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas CEO and President Krista Postai look on (Photo: Mark McDonald Photography). On Tuesday, Kansas Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer, M.D., and Kevin Sparks, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Kansas, presented a $48,000 Frontier Rural Health Care grant to the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas Inc. (CHC/SEK) and a $45,000 grant to the Southeast Kansas Independent Living Center (SKIL) at a ceremony in Pittsburg. The following day, a $45,000 grant was awarded to the Community Health Ministry in Wamego, and a $48,000 grant was awarded to the Minneola District Hospital in Minneola. A fifth grant for $48,000 will be presented to the Reno County Health Department later this month in Hutchinson, totaling $234,000 in donations by UnitedHealthcare. UnitedHealthcare established the Frontier Rural Health Care grant program earlier this year to fund organizations and programs aimed at improving health resources available for people living in rural areas of Kansas. "Many Kansans who live in rural areas have to travel long distances to see a health care provider or they have limited access to preventive, specialty and emergency care," Lt. Gov. Colyer said. "Grants like these enable us to strengthen quality health care and resources in remote communities across Kansas." The five grant recipients include:
According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, approximately 30 percent of Kansans live in rural or frontier areas, with more than 80 counties established as areas with shortages of primary care health professionals. To learn more about the distinctive health care needs facing people who live in rural communities and innovative ideas and solutions for quality, cost-effective care in local communities, visit Modernizing Rural Health Care.
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View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170818005444/en/ |