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WYDEN, SMITH SECURE $2.75
MILLION FOR OREGON HEALTH, EDUCATION AND JOB TRANING PROGRAMS
Bill also requires National Institutes
of Health to study affordability of Rx drugs
January 22, 2004
Washington,
DC – U.S.
Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) today announced
$2.75 million in Federal funding for Oregon health and human
services programs. These funds are included in the Fiscal Year
2004 omnibus funding measure that will now be signed into law
by the president. The bill also requires a National Institutes
of Health (NIH) study to consider the affordability of prescription
drugs to American consumers when taxpayer-funded drug technologies
are transferred to the private sector – as in the case
of Taxol, a powerful anti-cancer drug originally derived from
a tree found in Oregon.
"From keeping rural nurses up-to-date in their profession
to securing mental health programs, making prescription drugs
more affordable and exploring new fields like nanotechnology,
these funds will improve the daily lives of Oregonians and bring
them better health, education and job opportunities," said
Wyden.
"Advancements in health services and education come at
a critical time for Oregon," said Smith. "With this
bill Oregonians will have more help providing a dependable level
of assistance and social services."
The following Oregon projects received funding.
-
Eastern Oregon
University will receive $100,000 to help continue and expand
its Rural
Frontier Delivery (RFD) program,
which provides educational resources and training for rural
nurses. The program seeks to educate and place 18 new registered
nurses
in Eastern Oregon every year for the next five years.
-
Deschutes County
will also receive $200,000 for much needed improvements to
the La Pine
Senior Center and for the
development of a rural mental health program.
-
Southern Oregon
University's AuCoin Institute for Ecological, Economic and
Civil Studies
will receive $75,000 to provide educational
training to federal wildlife and resource employees and
help them work more effectively with policy makers and the
public.
-
Lane County will
receive $75,000 to expand and enhance its public health facilities
to become
more fully capable of
responding to public health crises, including acts of bioterrorism.
-
Asante Health
System, a not-for-profit health care organization in Medford,
will receive $75,000 to
help implement a new technology
system at its southern Oregon medical facilities to reduce
medical errors and deliver health care more effectively in
rural areas.
-
Relief Nursery,
Inc. in Eugene will receive $80,000 to extend the Relief Nursery
Model for
therapeutic early intervention
to underserved populations in the community.
-
Marion County
will receive $100,000 for the collection, analysis and dissemination
of
infectious disease data, allowing
improved tracking of infectious diseases and helping to
protect public health.
-
Clatsop Community
College in Astoria will receive $50,000 for technology and
equipment
upgrades so it can continue to improve
training for skilled workers in the area.
-
The Columbia
Gorge Community Health Care Occupations Career Ladder Program
will receive
$500,000 to support and improve
its nurse training program.
-
The University
of Oregon School of Music will receive $50,000 for the renovation
and expansion
of its facility.
-
The New Avenues
for Youth Alternatives Education Center in Portland will receive
$30,000
to expand enrollment and continue
to help homeless youth achieve their educational goals.
-
Mt. Hood Community
College of Nursing will receive $50,000 to help relocate its
Associate
Degree Nursing Program to the
Center for Advanced Learning site, which will provide improved
facilities and allow for increased enrollment.
-
The Oregon Institute
for Technology will receive $50,000 to help establish the Center
for Health
Professions, improving
and expanding training for healthcare workers.
-
The Oregon Health
and Science Center will receive $300,000 for its Defense and
Security Research
Center, a research center
for nano-sensors, sensing systems, smart maps, and other
technologies.
-
The Hood River
Integrated Technology Center will receive $50,000 to help develop
an integrated
curriculum and training
program between the Technology Center and Columbia Gorge
Community College instructors.
-
Klamath County
Public Health Department will receive $50,000 to help relocate
to a new,
centralized facility that
will include new programs for bio-terrorism detection and
epidemiology.
Tillamook
Lightwave will receive $400,000 to provide broadband service
to rural residents. Lightwave was formed by an intergovernmental
agreement between the Port of Tillamook Bay, Tillamook County,
and Tillamook Peoples Utility District.
-
·The Oregon Community
Health Information Network (OCHIN) will receive $50,000 to
help expand
its successful Community
Health Center Practice Management Information System,
which is helping to improve community health centers throughout
the Northwest.
-
·Clackamas County
will receive $50,000 to help establish an Integrated Health
Care Services
Center that will serve residents
in the eastern area of the county.
-
·The Ochoco Community
(Health) Clinic will receive $50,000 to improve services to
Crook
County residents.
Additional Oregon projects funded under
the FY2004 omnibus measure
include:
-
Experience Works,
Beaverton for the Rural Revitalization Through Technology Initiative
($25,000);
-
Institute for
Retraining of Dislocated Workers, Southwestern Oregon Community
College ($25,000);
-
Esther's Pantry
of Metropolitan Community Church of Portland ($25,000);
-
Rural Health
Association, LaGrande, Urgent Care/Family Practice Clinic ($50,000);
-
Tillamook County
Library ($60,000);
-
Oregon Partnership,
Portland, for a program to close the achievement gap for Hispanic
students
($125,000);
-
For Us Northwest
in Portland, a mentoring program for children with HIV/AIDS
($25,000); and
-
Chemeketa Community
College for a high school equivalency program ($30,000)
At Wyden's request,
the legislation also requires the National Institutes of Health
(NIH) to report
to Congress on how it can
or cannot ensure that taxpayer-funded drugs and inventions
are offered to American health consumers at an affordable price.
In the past, NIH has failed to make sure that consumers see
price
benefits for prescription drugs when the agency transfers
taxpayer-funded drug technologies to the private sector. For
example, NIH failed
to raise the issue of affordability in three agreements with
the manufacturer of the widely-used cancer drug Taxol – originally
derived from the Pacific yew tree found in Oregon.
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