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Print Edition StoriesTuesday, May 4, 2010
Two N.E. health-care IT firms land stimulus funding
By Mass High Tech staff
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Health-care information technology efforts have won a $220 million shot in the arm from the Department of Health and Human Services, and a pair of New England companies have carved out a combined $28.7 million of that stimulus money.
Rhode Island Quality Institute in Providence, R.I., was awarded $15.9 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, and Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems in Brewer, Maine, was given $12.75 million.
According to officials, Rhode Island Quality Institute will use the funds to improve the management of patients with diabetes through a number of health-care IT initiatives. The efforts are being done to support Rhode Island’s move to the “patient-centered medical home” model, in which more care is being done in the patient’s home and less at a doctor’s office or hospital. In addition, the health-care programs will adapt infrastructure that has been shown to improve childhood immunizations, in order to get higher adult immunization rates.
In Maine, Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems plans to use the funds to expand community connectivity, including long-term care, primary care and specialist providers, to an existing Health Information Exchange. EMHS will also promote the use of telemedicine and patient self-management to improve care for elderly patients and individuals needing long-term or in-home care. Eastern Maine Medical Center, the largest hospital organization in the eastern half of the state, is a member hospital of the EMHS network.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that, in total, 15 communities across the country won funding, which was given out through the DHHS Beacon Community program. The Beacon projects are expected to initially create as much as 1,100 new jobs in each community, with an average wage of $70,000 per year.
According to DHHS, $30 million is available to fund additional Beacon Community cooperative agreement awards, and an announcement to apply for those funds will be made soon.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems. Please note, Eastern Maine Medical Center is a a member hospital of the EMHS network.
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