WASHINGTON - Congressman Dale E. Kildee (D-MI) announced today that St. Mary’s Medical Center has been awarded a $329,731 federal grant to finance the Community Access Program.  The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services awarded the CAP grant to St. Mary’s Medical Center to provide preventive and primary health care for residents without sufficient health insurance.

“This CAP grant will help St. Mary’s provide preventative, primary and emergency health care services to the uninsured and underinsured residents in the area,” said Kildee.  “This funding will effectively help save lives and protect public health by providing immediate access to quality medical care for those residents that do not have sufficient health insurance.”

The Community Access Program grants help health care providers develop integrated, community-wide systems that serve the uninsured and underinsured.  CAP grants are specifically designed to increase access to health care by eliminating fragmented service delivery, improving efficiencies among safety net providers, and by encouraging greater private sector involvement.  The primary objective of the Community Access Program is to provide “better health for more people for less cost”.  CAP funding can be used to support a wide variety of projects to improve access for all levels and types of health care for the uninsured and underinsured.