Bluefield State University received more than $7 million when it was among the recipients Wednesday of 11 federal grants 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 (Labor-HHS), announced the 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.
These awards will be used to improve medical emergency response resources, open and expand medical education facilities, and increase treatment options in West Virginia for a variety of medical conditions.
A $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 healthcare services and help develop healthcare infrastructure in the area.
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 able to train more healthcare workers.