02.09.11

Durbin Announces $360,000 in Funding to Accelerate Implementation of Electronic Health Records

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded $360,000 in funding to the Illinois Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center, located at Northern Illinois University, to provide support and assistance to hospitals so they can quickly implement electronic health records systems. The funding will be distributed to 60 Illinois hospitals and rural health centers around the state – each facility will receive a $6,000 grant. Today’s funding is in addition to the $12,000 grant that each facility received late last year.

“Because they can be shared instantaneously with multiple doctors and can be transmitted hundreds of miles in seconds, electronic health records are an effective tool for improving the quality of health care and saving lives,” said Durbin. “Today’s funding will help achieve President Obama’s goal of adopting a nationwide health information technology infrastructure.”

Today, the HHS’s Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology awarded $12 million in funding to health centers nationwide for technical support assistance to help critical access hospitals and rural hospitals adopt and become meaningful users of certified health information technology.

The funding will come through HHS’s Regional Extension Center program which provides a wide range of support services to the 1,777 critical access and rural hospitals in 41 states and the nationwide Indian Country, headquartered in the District of Columbia, to help them qualify for substantial electronic health records incentive payments from Medicare and Medicaid.

The following 60 Illinois hospitals and rural health centers around the state will receive
a $6,000 grant today for a total of $18,000 in HHS funding for electronic health record implementation::

  • Mercer County Hospital in Aledo
  • Union County Hospital in Anna
  • Swedish American Med Center in Belvidere
  •  Franklin Hospital in Benton
  • Graham Hospital Association in Canton
  • Carlinville Area Hospital in Carlinville
  • Thomas H. Boyd Memorial Hospital in Carrollton
  • Memorial Hospital in Carthage
  • Memorial Hospital in Chester
  • Dr John Warner Hospital in Clinton
  • Marshall Browning Hospital in Du Quoin
  • Ferrell Hospital Community Foundations in Eldorado
  • Eureka Community Hospital in Eureka
  • Fairfield Memorial Hospital in Fairfield
  • Clay County Hospital in Flora
  • Midwest Medical Center in Galena
  • Hammond Henry Hospital in Geneseo
  • Gibson Community Hospital in Gibson City
  • Greenville Regional Hospital in Greenville
  • Harrisburg Medical Center in Harrisburg
  • Mercy Harvard Hospital in Harvard
  • Mason District Hospital in Havana
  • St Joseph's Hospital in Highland
  • Hillsboro Area Hospital in Hillsboro
  • Hoopeston Community Memorial Hospital in Hoopeston
  • Hopedale Medical Complex in Hopedale
  • Kewanee Hospital in Kewanee
  • Lawrence County Memorial Hospital in Lawrenceville
  • Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Lincoln
  • St Francis Hospital in Litchfield
  • Hamilton Memorial Hospital District in Mcleansboro
  • Mendota Community Hospital in Mendota
  • Massac Memorial Hospital in Metropolis
  • OSF Holy Family Medical Center in Monmouth
  • John & Mary Kirby Hospital in Monticello
  • Morrison Community Hospital in Morrison
  • Wabash General Hospital in Mount Carmel
  • Crossroads Community Hospital in Mount Vernon
  • St Joseph Memorial Hospital in Murphysboro
  • Washington County Hospital in Nashville
  • Richland Memorial Hospital in Olney
  • Pana Community Hospital in Pana
  • Paris Community Hospital in Paris
  • Pinckneyville Community Hospital in Pinckneyville
  • Illini Community Hospital in Pittsfield
  • Saint James Hospital in Pontiac
  • Perry Memorial Hospital in Princeton
  • Red Bud Regional Hospital in Red Bud
  • Crawford Memorial Hospital in Robinson
  • Rochelle Community Hospital in Rochelle
  • Hardin County General Hospital in Rosiclare
  • Sarah D Culbertson Memorial Hospital in Rushville
  • Salem Township Hospital in Salem
  • Valley West Community Hospital in Sandwich
  • Shelby Memorial Hospital in Shelbyville
  • Sparta Community Hospital in Sparta
  • Community Memorial Hospital in Staunton
  • Taylorville Memorial Hospital in Taylorville
  • Fayette County Hospital in Vandalia
  • Iroquois Memorial Hospital in Watseka