Delaware Health and Social Services announces a second round of Rural Health Transformation Funding.
The Delaware Rural Health Transformation plan includes 15 projects in Kent and Sussex which will benefit from over $160 million in additional funding from this second round according to Delaware’s Dept of Health and Social Services.
Secretary Christen Linke Young says rural healthcare remains a challenge in Delaware.
“Here in Delaware one of the major gaps that we have in our Rural communities is a shortage of primary care providers. In Sussex County there is one primary care provider for every 2,000 residents, which just isn’t enough.” she said.
Young says that’s why one main focus with the initial round of funding was to expand access to primary healthcare providers, which she adds will continue with the new funding.
But she notes because of requirements from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, no new projects will be added.
“CMS requires states to continue with the projects that were approved for the first round of funding, so we don’t have the opportunity to introduce whole new projects. But we will continue to evolve in the way we are using our resources and advancing the objectives.” she said.
Those 15 projects include a new medical school in the First State run by Thomas Jefferson University and an expansion of school-based health centers.
They also include two new Hope Centers planned for Kent and Sussex counties, based on the existing one in New Castle County. The Kent site is set for the former Delaware State Univ. Living and Learning Commons in Dover. The Sussex site hasn’t been decided on yet.
Opening dates for those new Hope Centers have not yet been announced.
