University nets $5.86 million in HRSA grants

Services Administration (HRSA) granted ATSU eight awards totaling more than $5.86 million. In all, ATSU was awarded more than 60 percent of HRSA’s Federal Health Professions grant funding in Missouri and more than 75 percent of all grants in Arizona.

“These significant grants will allow ATSU to better serve our communities and to carry out our mission to serve rural areas and underserved populations,” said ATSU President Jack Magruder.

All grant funds are dedicated to specific areas and cannot be used for anything else. Three of the eight grants are for five-year projects. A $1.75 million award will establish a department of family and community medicine at ATSU’s School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona for the purpose of training community health centers to meet the needs of vulnerable populations.

ATSU’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health and School of Health Management received $1.5 million for a workforce development initiative to produce oral health leaders for community health centers and public health settings.

A $1.11 million grant was awarded to ATSU’s Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine to intensify instruction and assessment in health literacy, public health, and electronic medical records, emphasizing the medical home model of care.

The five remaining grants were received through HRSA’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Each ARRA grant is worth $300,000, and that $1.5 million is allocated for the acquisition and use of teaching resources and classroom technology, including simulated patients, defibrillators, and a video communications system. These grants were awarded to ATSU’s Arizona School of Health Sciences, SOMA, and KCOM.