HHS Awards $250,000 Grant to University of Texas for Studying Border Issues

The University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio will receive a first-year award of $250,000 from HHS as part of a "five-year cooperative agreement" to establish a new center for examining health workforce issues along the U.S.-Mexico border, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson announced Oct. 15. The university's Regional Center for Health Workforce Studies is part of the Health Resources and Services Administration's Border Health Initiative. HRSA has allocated $280 million over the past four years for this project, which is designed to improve access to health care along the border. "The new UT-San Antonio research center will help us develop effective strategies for attracting the right mix of doctors, nurses and other health care professionals to serve the people who live in the border region," Thompson said, adding, "The grant is part of our broader commitment to improving access to health care for children and families in this underserved area." Thompson also announced that HHS will renew its grants with the four existing centers that study workforce issues: the University of California-San Francisco, the University of Illinois-Chicago, the State University of New York-Albany and the University of Washington-Seattle (HHS release, 10/15).