Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Friday, December 21, 2007
(UNDATED) - Three rural Indiana counties could gain their own health centers through a federal grant program.
The Bush Administration has identified 200 counties nationwide which don't have enough doctors to serve the population. The Indiana Primary Care Association has received grants to draft plans for new community health centers in Carroll, Newton and Posey counties.
PCA Executive Director Lisa Winternheimer says the association is holding a series of meetings in those counties to explain the program and get a sense of what type of health center would be the best fit.
For instance, Newton and Posey are both small, rural counties, but Mount Vernon gives Posey a relatively large city which could more easily support a health enter.
Eventually, it's up to the counties to decide whether to pursue a follow-up grant to open a health center. Landing a health center would mean $600,000 dollars a year from the federal government to provide health care to the uninsured.
Jeffersonville and Elkhart already have federally supported centers. Centers in Clinton and Michigan City are about to open.
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