Georgia Health Policy Center Wins Federal Contract to Improve Health in 40 States
at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies

Sept. 12, 2005

Contact:
Sallie Barker
(404) 651-3104
sbarker@gsu.edu

ATLANTA -- Georgia State University's Georgia Health Policy Center was recently awarded a federal contract to improve availability of health and human services in some of the United States' most rural and medically-underserved areas.

The grant will allow the Georgia Health Policy Center to work in partnership with 75 grantees in some 200 communities across 40 states to develop and sustain rural health organizations that aim to improve access to quality health care. The center will work in partnership with communities to identify their needs and provide the tailored technical assistance they need to develop and sustain innovative partnerships and programs that positively influence the health of their communities.

The Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) awarded the $1 million contract to the Georgia Health Policy Center. This new, competitively-awarded contract, effective September 2005, contains five one-year options that, if exercised, could bring the total contract value to nearly $6 million.

Georgia Health Policy Center Director Karen Minyard said that on average, rural Americans are older, poorer and sicker than urban residents. Many rural areas have little economic base, and as a result, rural residents are less likely than their urban counterparts to be covered by health insurance.

"Rural health organizations help bridge the gap between rural and urban areas to meet the needs of the communities they serve," Minyard said.

Patricia Kota, director of Community Health Systems Development at the Georgia Health Policy Center, will lead implementation of the HRSA contract.

"The Center began its work with rural Georgia communities in 1997 and communities nationwide in 2001," Kota said. "This contract allows us to continue to learn from our first-hand experiences and apply those learnings going forward to improve the health of communities nationwide."

Andrew Young School of Policy Studies Dean Roy Bahl applauded news of the contract.

"Because the real impact of any policy making decision is realized locally, the depth and breadth of the Georgia Health Policy Center's work at the community level is central to its decade of success in providing high-quality and relevant policy information and recommendations," he said. "This major federal contract is yet another sign of the Center and the school's rising national prominence."

The Health Resources and Services Administration's Office of Rural Health Policy was authorized by Congress in December 1987 to promote better health care in rural America. Congress authorized ORHP to advise the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on matters affecting rural hospitals and health care, coordinate rural HHS activities, and maintain a national information clearinghouse. ORHP works within government at Federal, State and local levels, as well as with Tribal Nations and the private sector including associations, foundations, providers, and community leaders, to increase access to and improve the quality of rural health care.

Georgia Health Policy Center, established in 1995 at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, provides evidence-based research, program development and policy guidance on local, state and national levels to improve health status at the community level. Now in its 10th year, the Center focuses on solutions to the toughest issues facing health care today, including insurance coverage, long-term care, children's health and the development of rural and urban health systems.

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