WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today announced $402,000 in additional funding for two Ohio hospitals.  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding was provided through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) through its Health Information Technology Economic and Clinic Health (HITECH) Act.

“When minutes matter, it just makes sense for healthcare providers to be able to retrieve critical medical information without delay,” Brown said. “These funds will help Ohio hospitals upgrade their record keeping technology so that they may begin to file patient information electronically and provide more efficient health care to residents in Cincinnati and Columbus.”

The recipients are included below:

Recipient

County

New Funding

Greater Cincinnati Health Bridge

Hamilton

$144,000

Ohio Health Information Partnership

Franklin

$258,000

According to HHS, HITECH funds are designed to better equip critical access hospitals (CAHs) and rural American hospitals with technology that will facilitate hospitals switch to electronic records.  Funds will also help CAHs and rural hospitals to provide better hands-on technical assistance, guidance, and information on the best practices to support and accelerate health care providers’ efforts to become meaningful users of certified electronic health records under the Medicare and Medicaid incentive programs. 

The Ohio Health Information Partnership (OHIP) is a non-profit entity, funded through a combination of state and federal grants, aimed at assisting physicians and other providers with implementation and adoption of health information technology (HIT) throughout Ohio.

Health Bridge, Inc., based in Cincinnati, provides connectivity for more than 28 hospitals, 5500 physician users, 17 local health departments, 700 physician offices and clinics, as well as nursing homes, independent labs, radiology centers and others in the southwest Ohio healthcare region.

Brown previously sent a letter of support for the applications of both Ohio Health Information Partnership and Greater Cincinnati HealthBridge. Copies of the letters can be found HERE and HERE.

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