Funding Is Contained in the Fiscal Year 2009 LHHS Appropriations Bill
Washington, D.C. – Today U.S. Senators Arlen Specter, Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Bob Casey announced the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee has approved funding for several Southwestern Pennsylvania health care, education and labor projects. The projects are contained in the Fiscal Year 2009 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill.
“I am pleased my colleagues have approved this important funding for Southwestern Pennsylvania,” Senator Specter said. “Health and education are our nation’s greatest capital assets, and these projects are vital to ensuring quality health care and education for the area’s residents.”
“This money is great news for Southwestern Pennsylvania and I am pleased that members of the committee approved this funding,” said Senator Casey. “I will continue working with Senator Specter to ensure residents of the area have access to quality health care and education.”
The bill will now await action on the Senate floor and must be approved by the House of Representatives and the President of the United States before funding is final.
Southwestern Pennsylvania projects in the bill include:
• $200,000 for the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh in Allegheny County for treating children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
• $100,000 for Allegheny General Hospital in Allegheny County for the development of a Comprehensive Diabetes Clinic.
• $100,000 for Carnegie Mellon University in Allegheny County for an MRI Scanner for neurodevelopmental disorders research, particularly autism & dyslexia.
• $100,000 for Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in Allegheny County for construction of a new Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh with a nationally-used transplant facility.
• $100,000 for Community College of Allegheny County for job training to address the lack of qualified applicants for many apprenticeships available in southwestern Pennsylvania. CCAC is creating the Skilled Trades Access Labs at three college centers where adult learners and out-of school youth will acquire the academic skills essential for entrance into a formal apprenticeship using self-paced interactive software in a computer lab staffed by college remediation specialists.
• $100,000 for Duquesne University in Allegheny County for professional development and research training in computational sciences. The Center for Computational Sciences at Duquesne University is a nationally recognized supercomputing facility and will use the funding to continue to make scientific research advances by integrating supercomputing components into areas of study.
• $100,000 for Hispanic Center in Allegheny County to train and employ bilingual individuals.
• $100,000 for Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Allegheny County to renovate and expand the Surgical Suite.
• $100,000 for Mentoring Partnership of Southwestern Pennsylvania in Allegheny County for recruitment, placement, and oversight of school-based mentoring programs with the goal of decreasing truancy rates, student disciplinary referrals and involvement with the juvenile justice system. This project is to be carried out in collaboration with the Pittsburgh and Allegheny County Public Schools.
• $100,000 for Ohio Valley General Hospital in Allegheny County to purchase equipment and technology related to the hospital's health information technology initiative.
• $100,000 for Point Park University in Allegheny County for technology upgrades to support the criminal justice laboratory classes and computer assisted data analysis classes which are offered through the University to students, as well as local law enforcement and first responders.
• $100,000 for Robert Morris University in Allegheny County for equipment and construction of a new School of Nursing and Health Sciences Complex.
• $100,000 for University of Pittsburgh in Allegheny County to support a Center for Global Value and Innovation Networks, which is dedicated to forging economic leadership by promoting innovation and developing a globally competitive, sustainable workforce. The university will partner with corporations and government agencies to conduct research and develop curricula and evidence-based programs in business strategies, intellectual property, and international entrepreneurship and management.
• $100,000 for University of Pittsburgh (Simmons Center) in Allegheny County to establish a Center for Personalized Medicine in Pulmonary Fibrosis on the basis of the PA State Idopathic Pul. Dibrosis registry, a consortium of five medical centers.
• $100,000 for University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute in Allegheny County to develop a comprehensive suite of non-invasive imaging technologies that will be used for a full range of studies from basic laboratory research to human clinical trials.
• $100,000 for University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Allegheny County to develop a new, comprehensive healthcare delivery model focusing on asthma, diabetes, maternal and child health, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and oral health.
• $100,000 for Pennsylvania Association for Individuals with Disabilities in Armstrong, Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Centre, Huntington, Indiana, Somerset and Westmoreland Counties for a job training program. Funding will be used to assist job seekers with disabilities in their quest for employment in Pennsylvania. In addition, funds will also be used to implement a program to promote social inclusion and acceptance of persons with disabilities, targeting a youth population.
• $100,000 for Community College of Beaver County in Beaver County to establish a program to train persons to become machinists.
• $100,000 for Altoona Regional Health System in Blair County to purchase digital mammography equipment in the breast imaging center.
• $100,000 for Tyrone Hospital in Blair County to replace and upgrade medical monitoring system for the ICCU/Telemetry, Emergency Room and Recovery Room.
• $100,000 for Butler Health System in Butler County to purchase a multi-slice CT scanner and two new digital mammography devices.
• $100,000 for Mount Aloysius College in Cambria County for college preparation programs. Funding will be used to support the Mount Aloysius Academic Preparation Program, a “summer bridge program” designed to enhance the success and retention rates of academically at-risk first-year students.
• $100,000 for Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Cambria County to upgrade the college's equipment and technology, including a public address system, multi-media projection, video-conference capabilities, and the capacity to deliver web addresses.
• $100,000 for American Prosthodontic Society Foundation in Clearfield County for scholarships and program costs related to prosthetic dentistry and clinical prosthodontics.
• $100,000 for Clearfield Hospital in Clearfield County to construct a Women's Health and Outpatient diagnostic center.
• $100,000 for DuBois Regional Medical Center in Clearfield County for a health information exchange that provides each partner (DRMS, Brookville, Clearfield, Elk and Punxsutawney Area Hospitals) the ability to securely and electronically access regional patient information at the point of care.
• $100,000 for Indiana Regional Medical Center in Indiana County to purchase a new Mobile Medical Unit to provide community outreach and education.
• $100,000 for Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana County for curriculum development for a mine safety course and research on the use of mine maps to prevent and manage mine-related emergencies. This mine map digitization and safety initiative will allow development of a national model to create mine map databases and train safety professionals in use of mine maps.
• $100,000 for Somerset Hospital in Somerset County for the purchase and implementation of Electronic Medical Records, an automated Physician order entry and Medication distribution bar coding system.
• $100,000 for California University of Pennsylvania in Washington County for curriculum development and teacher training to support the Center for Excellence in Math and Science. The Center offers math and science professional development for teachers and master degree programs.
• $100,000 for Cornerstone Care Inc. in Washington County to build a new 58,000 sq-ft health center to provide health and dental services to over 25,000 patients.
• $100,000 for Monongahela Valley Hospital in Washington County to replace its current analog mammography equipment with three new digital mammography machines.
• $100,000 for Washington & Jefferson College in Washington County to provide advanced training to college faculty members in science, technology, education and mathematics who will in-turn train local public school teachers and provide follow-up outreach sessions in their classrooms. College faculty will also provide college-level instruction in math and science to area students.
• $100,000 for Excela Health in Westmoreland County to establish a Center for Neuroscience at Excela Health which will provide care for patients’ diagnoses including stroke, Parkinson's Disease and MS, as well as neurosurgery, and acute rehab.
• $100,000 for Saint Vincent College in Westmoreland County to support the development of educational programs which will focus on early childhood development. The College will use the works of Fred Rogers for the further study and development of early learning and children's media.
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