A local research foundation with Bluefield State University received more than $7.4 million when it was among the recipients Wednesday of federal grants awarded to entities working to provide improved health care services and medical education opportunities across West Virginia.
U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, announced 11 funding awards from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for health care education; facility construction, acquisitions and renovations; and treatment resources in West Virginia. Bluefield State University was among the recipients with the $7.4 million award.
Capito said the funding award was secured through Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) requests made earlier this year.
The $7,415,000 HHS CDS grant was awarded to the Applied Research Foundation of West Virginia, located in Bluefield, to help southern West Virginia reduce health disparities, improve access to health care services and help develop health care infrastructure in the area, according to Capito.
In 2020, Bluefield State University bought the former Bluefield Regional Medical Center from Princeton Community Hospital, now WVU Medicine Princeton Community Hospital. The university has created dormitories at the former hospital, and is converting unused space into an educational facility for training more health care workers. The university offers programs in health care administration, education, imaging science, radiologic technology, nuclear medicine and nursing. Capito said this facility will allow expansion over time to add radiologic technology and other health care programs, including dental hygiene, mammography, respiratory therapy and surgical technology.
Messages left by the Daily Telegraph Wednesday with Bluefield State University officials seeking comment on the federal funding award were not immediately returned.
“Whether it’s expanding our pipeline of health care professionals through educational resources or securing funds to make sure emergency services are available in our most rural areas, I am constantly working to expand the scope and quality of West Virginia’s health care infrastructure,” Capito said. “These CDS awards will expand emergency services, provide the capital to raise our standard of care, and help deliver better treatment outcomes in West Virginia. I’ve worked closely with our health care providers and educators to listen and identify their most pressing needs, and these awards will supplement the great initiatives they are taking.”