Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis announced on February 12 a total of nearly $1 billion in Recovery Act awards to help health care providers use health information technology (IT) and train workers for the health care jobs of the future.
The health department award of over $750 million is aimed at building capacity for widespread and meaninful use of IT in healthcare. It will assist healthcare providers to adopt and use electronic health records (EHR) in a meaningful way to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare for Americans. The goal of the awards is to help over 100,000 hospitals and primary care physicians by 2014.
$386 million of the grant will help states to facilitate Health Information Exchange (HIE) and $375 million will go to non-profit organizations for developing regional extension centers (RECs) to aid health professionals implement and use health information technology.
The Department of Labor grant of over over $225 million will help train 15,000 people in healthcare, IT and other high-growth-potential job skills. Grant recipients have already identified roughly 10,000 job openings over the next two years in areas like nursing, pharmacy technology and information technology and the grants will fund training programs to equip people to tap such openings.
While training will be offered at local community colleges, employment services will be available through DOL’s career centers.
Read the full news release at: Recovery Act Announcement
