For Immediate Release:

Thursday, June 26, 2008

(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Patty Murray today announced that she has included $4.65 million for health care, workforce training, and education programs in King County in a Senate spending bill. The funding was included in the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) Appropriations bill which passed the full Appropriations Committee today and will now go to the full Senate. Senator Murray is a senior member of the Appropriations Committee.

"This bill works to give more King County families access to quality health care, innovative education programs, and valuable employment training," said Senator Murray. "It supports cutting-edge research, brings crucial services in reach for people who need them most, and will help put people back to work. At a time when our economy is struggling and the Bush Administration continues to ignore our domestic needs, this funding is more important than ever."

The following projects for King County were included in the bill:

Health Care Programs

SCCA Proton Therapy Center, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance - $800,000 -- Seattle, WA
The SCCA and its parent institutions, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, University of Washington Medical Center and Children’s Hospital Regional Medical Center will use these funds to help develop and manage its own stand-alone, state-of-the-art, and high-capacity cancer treatment center, based on proton beam therapy.

Community Health Education and Simulation Center, Northwest Hospital and Medical Center - $1 million -- Seattle, WA
The Community Health Education and Simulation Center (CHESC) will serve as a hands-on training center using state-of-the-art equipment and simulation mannequins for practice allowing staff to learn medical procedures and life-saving techniques. Among other things, the center will provide community members with training for Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) use.  Health care providers, fire stations, ambulance companies, and EMTs will be able to participate in continuing education programs at the center.

Highline-West Seattle Mental Health - $450,000 -- Seattle, WA
This funding will go to help provide services at the Highline-West Seattle Mental Health center whose mission is to serve low income clients in south King County. The center is critical to meeting the health care needs of thousands of traditionally underserved adults and families who live in that part of the region. Development of the new center will maintain 100 existing health care jobs in the community and also support additional job growth at the new, expanded facility. In addition, hundreds of construction and construction related jobs will be created or sustained during the construction of this facility.

Allen Institute for Brain Science - $500,000 -- Seattle, WA
This funding will be used by the Allen Institute for Brain Science to support the creation of a three-dimensional map detailing genes at work in the human brain. This critical work will provide the key links between brain function in normal and in disease states and, most importantly, the genes that control them. Data and tools for using that data will be made freely available to researchers, physicians and the public. 

Seattle Biomedical Research Institute - $250,000 -- Seattle, WA
This funding will be used by the Seattle Biomedical research Institute for essential tools and technologies required to speed progress towards the discovery of TB drugs. TB remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases and is rated a top health threat by the CDC.

Northwest Kidney Centers - $200,000 -- Seattle, WA
This funding will be used by the new Seattle Kidney Center to provide a new home for the exceptionally frail and debilitated dialysis patients in King County within the Center’s special care unit.  The Center will also provide training and education for those who rely on home dialysis in the state.

University of Washington, Bothell Nursing Consortium - $100,000 -- Seattle, WA
This funding will go toward the creation of a consortium of associate degree nursing programs at the University of Washington in Bothell.

Education Programs

YWCA of Seattle, King County, and Snohomish County - $300,000 -- Seattle, WA
This funding will be used to support and expand the School's Out Washington program and its afterschool partnerships in 5 communities and improve the quality of afterschool programs. Specifically, the funding will be used to used to train staff and build the capacity of small organizations serving areas with scarce resources. Well trained staff are one of the most critical components in a high quality afterschool program.

Workforce/Labor Programs

Aerospace Worker Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee - $500,000 -- Seattle, WA
This funding will be used to provide much needed worker training for Washington state's aerospace industry.  The Washington Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Program will strengthen this cornerstone industry in Washington State by increasing the skill level of this expanding workforce which will allow aerospace companies to better compete in the global market.  With the initial state funding and the help of this funding request, the Washington Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Program will produce 500 new highly trained journey level skilled workers.

Seattle King County Workforce Development Council - $150,000 -- Seattle, WA
This funding will support the Seattle-King County Workforce Development Council (WDC) "demand side" workforce training efforts. The Seattle-King County WDC has become a national leader in demand-side (or industry) approaches to workforce development.  These funds will allow the WDC to provide training and assistance on these approaches across Washington state.

YouthCare - $100,000 -- Seattle, WA
This funding will be used to support YouthCare’s YouthTech project, a technology training program for homeless and out-of-school youth. YouthCare’s target population is youth who have exited foster care, dropped-out of schools, and are adjudicated.  These disconnected young people have traditionally been excluded from Workforce Investment Act and other federally funded youth employment programs due to the instability of their situations. This sixteen week paid training program teaches skills needed for entry level hardware, networking, computer software and employability skills.

Green River Community College - $300,000 -- Auburn, WA
This funding will support the Green River Community College's Computer Reporting Technologies program.