OFFICE OF RURAL HEALTH DISTRIBUTES EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES GRANTS

More Applicants Sought to Create or Expand Rural EMS Systems

Portland, Ore. -- The Oregon Office of Rural Health recently announced its first round of grant awards to rural Oregon emergency medical service systems. Sixteen awards totaling nearly $204,000 were made to organizations in 14 communities throughout rural Oregon. Twenty-seven applications were received, representing more than $920,000 in requests.

Senate Bill 911, passed by the 1999 Oregon Legislature, created a funding stream to assist rural emergency medical services. The funds are divided among four different agencies, one of them being the Office of Rural Health at Oregon Health Sciences University.

The Office of Rural Health's EMS grant program is ongoing; applications for funding are accepted at any time. Grant awards are made quarterly, and requests of an urgent nature may be considered between regular quarterly meetings. The deadline for consideration in the next funding cycle is September 19. For further information, contact Scott Ekblad at ekblads@ohsu.edu or 503 494-4450.