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Two Southern Illinois hospitals are joining a program that gives technical assistance to health providers in rural areas.

Delta Regional Authority has announced that the two Southern Illinois hospitals are among six additional rural hospitals that will participate in the Delta Region Community Health Systems Development – Technical Assistance Program (DRCHSD), according to a news release.

The program provides intensive technical assistance to providers in select rural communities, including critical access hospitals, small rural hospitals, rural health clinics and other healthcare organizations.

The hospitals are Marshall Browning Hospital in Du Quoin and Sparta Community Hospital. Both are 25-bed critical access hospitals.

“Health care is a top concern for so many folks across the Delta Region,” DRA Chairman Chris Caldwell said. “Through this important program, specifically with the partnership for these new hospitals, we’ll be able to improve access and overall healthcare services in our rural communities.”

In 2017, DRA partnered with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish the program. The technical assistance, provided by subject matter experts at the National Rural Health Resource Center, focuses on improving financial operations, enhancing coordination of care, implementing innovative service delivery techniques such as telehealth, identifying workforce recruitment and retention resources, and more.

The other additions to the program include: South Mississippi County Medical Center in Osceola, Arkansas, Livingston Hospital and Healthcare Services Inc. in Salem, Kentucky, and Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital in Missouri, all 25-bed critical access hospitals; and Henry County Medical Center in Paris, Tennessee, a 114-bed government hospital.

“Local hospitals are the backbone of rural America. They provide quality care without forcing patients to drive miles away, and are an economic boost to the community,” U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, said. “I’m proud to see Southern Illinois hospitals selected to participate in this important program and will continue to fight to bring federal resources to Illinois’ downstate communities.”

“Access to quality health care services shouldn’t be dependent on where you live,” Congressman Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, said. “Participating in this program will allow the Marshall Browning Hospital and Sparta Community Hospital to continue to provide Randolph and Perry counties with critical, quality care. I look forward to working more with the Delta Regional Authority to build public-private partnerships and improve the lives of Southern Illinoisans.”

Established in 2000 by Congress, the Delta Regional Authority’s mission statement is to improve the lives of 10 million people who reside in 252 counties along the Mississippi River in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.


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