WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) today announced that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will award Blackstone Valley Community Health Care (BVCHC) $750,000 in federal funding to help implement Electronic Health Records (EHRs), which will enhance the quality of care provided to patients.

"I commend Blackstone Valley Community Health Care for their outstanding work and commitment to providing comprehensive health care to low income and uninsured Rhode Islanders in the Blackstone Valley community. This heath information technology grant will provide BVCHC's doctors with improved access to electronic patient health records and streamline everyday clinical tasks such as prescribing medications, ordering tests, and managing patient care," said Reed, a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. "By automating patient records, this federal funding will help BVCHC provide more efficient, effective, and less costly care. It will also give doctors access to the critical information they need to treat patients during an emergency, even if the patient is unconscious or unable to provide their medical history at the moment when they need help."

BVCHC is receiving the federal funding on behalf of Rhode Island Health Center Controlled Network, which also includes three additional health centers: Comprehensive Community Action Program and East Bay Community Action Program, and Tritown Community Action Program. Each year the network members serve a total of 27,000 patients and render services from a total of twelve clinics throughout Rhode Island, including three school clinic sites, and receive 110,000 patient visits per year.

In May of 2007, Senator Reed wrote a letter in support of BVCHC's grant request, stating: "A dynamic network will result in greater patient safety and improved quality of care that all member health centers will be able to deliver to their patients, especially the chronically ill."

Raymond Lavoie, Executive Director of BVCHC stated, "These federal funds will permit all health centers in the network to implement the same technology. The added benefit of collaboration among the partners will accelerate our collective ability to improve the quality and safety of health care to a large segment of Rhode Island's patient population."

"The Electronic Health Record has enabled me to improve clarity and speed of clinical documentation, as well as implement technology in patient education within the examination room. It has helped reduce medication errors, and has helped reduce the amount of time necessary for my clinical documentation. It has enabled me to see an average of 10 more patients per day, and make myself available to our patient's families, thereby keeping them out of the local emergency rooms for minor illnesses," stated Dr. Sam Ambewadikar, a pediatrician at Blackstone Valley Community Health Care. "I find the electronic medical record software an extremely valuable tool for many reasons, and wish only that all health care facilities would be able to implement it sooner.

This Health Center grant is funded through the Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Health Center program. HRSA manages the Consolidated Health Center Program, which funds a national network of more than 3,600 clinics comprised of community health centers, migrant health centers, health care for the homeless centers and public housing primary care centers. Senator Reed is an original cosponsor of the Health Centers Renewal Act of 2007, which would reauthorize the health center program at $2.8 billion for fiscal year 2008 and increase funding to $3.5 billion in fiscal year 2012.

This past June, the Senate HELP Committee approved The Wired for Health Care Quality Act which included several key provisions authored by Senator Reed. This legislation establishes entities to facilitate the development and deployment of policies and standards governing health information technology systems and infrastructure around the country. It also provides new resources through the creation of grant and loan programs to help health care providers purchase and adopt new information technologies.