The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced $2.55 million in Emergency Rural Health Care Grants has been awarded to 10 communities in rural Kansas.

The grants will help rural hospitals and health care providers implement telehealth and nutrition assistance programs, increase staffing to administer COVID-19 vaccines and testing, build or renovate facilities, and purchase medical supplies.

The Kansas communities receiving grant funding are:

• Cheyenne County Public Building Commission will receive a $54,200 grant to use toward the purchase and installation of flooring and equipment to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the Saint Francis skilled nursing facility. The facility’s flooring and dining furniture cannot withstand the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s new required cleaning and sanitizing standards. The project will replace over 9,000 square feet of carpet and laminate flooring and purchase new dining room tables and chairs.
• Cloud County Health Center will receive a $369,600 grant to use toward the purchase of a Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine. An on-site MRI service will provide faster diagnosis and treatment, improving the quality of care.
• Winfield Rest Haven Inc. will receive a $307,600 grant to use toward reimbursing Winfield Rest Haven Inc. for lost revenues suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Winfield Rest Haven, a skilled nursing home, is open to all residents regardless of their ability to pay. The COVID-19 pandemic greatly reduced operating revenue to the facility.
• Atchison Hospital Association will receive a $414,800 grant to use toward reimbursing Atchison Hospital Association, Amberwell Health, for lost revenue in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This facility provides in-patient, out-patient, emergency care and physician services to patients in the county and surrounding areas.
• Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center will receive a $434,300 grant to use toward the purchase and installation of telehealth infrastructure and upgrade health information systems to Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center. The critical access hospital has faced unprecedented challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Sumner County Hospital District #1 will receive a $91,100 grant to use toward the purchase of equipment and supplies to replace what was used during the COVID-19 pandemic, increase telehealth capabilities, purchase additional equipment to continue serving COVID-19 patients and provide vaccinations and testing at this Caldwell facility. This project will allow the only hospital in Sumner County to continue providing health care protection and treatment for the COVID-19 pandemic and increase telehealth services.
• Prairie Sunset Home Inc. will receive a $74,600 grant to use toward reimbursing Prairie Sunset Home Inc., a skilled nursing home, for lost revenues from 2020 and 2021. The investment will also purchase supplies and equipment and improve information technology and telehealth capabilities to help the facility in its continued fight over COVID-19. This facility provides services to residents in a very small community and parts of Reno County.
• Coffeyville Regional Medical Center Inc. will receive a $657,700 grant to use toward purchasing medical equipment, medical vehicles and a pharmacy storage system to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and support the hospital’s COVID-19 response in rural southeast Kansas.
• Frankfort Community Care Home will receive a $69,600 grant to use toward the reimbursement of lost revenues that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Sherman County Public Building Commission will receive an $83,100 grant to use toward purchasing equipment to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and improve the quality of life for their residents. The purchase includes a digital screening system, air filtration machines and ceiling hoists for Topside Manor, the only facility of its kind in Goodland.