Totaling more than $20 million, Recovery Act awards will advance use of health IT and train Hoosier workers for health jobs of the future
INDIANAPOLIS (Feb. 17, 2010) – BioCrossroads, Indiana’s public-private collaboration for investment, development and advancement of the state’s signature life sciences strengths, congratulates Purdue University, Ivy Tech Community College and the Indianapolis Private Industry Council on recent grant awards from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The awards, made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), are intended to help health care providers “advance the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology (HIT) and train workers for the health care jobs of the future,” according to the official press release.
As the leader of Indiana’s life science initiatives, BioCrossroads collaborated with and provided support to each organization submitting HIT-related grant applications for federal funding.
“These sizable grant awards are a huge win for Indiana’s health information technology (HIT) community, and validate our strengths in this important, emerging sector,” said David Johnson, President and CEO of BioCrossroads. “The initiatives that will be made possible at Purdue, Ivy Tech and IPIC through these awards will strengthen Indiana’s leadership position in HIT and, most importantly, put Hoosiers to work in these great healthcare jobs of the future.”
Purdue’s HHS award of $12 million supports the development of the university as a regional extension center for health information technology. The university will use the grant funding to help health care providers adopt and use HIT, such as electronic health records and e-prescribing.
“Electronic health records technology has heretofore only been affordable by large practices and health-care systems, but through the federal initiative new options are being developed to enable adoption by practices of all sizes,” said Dave McKinnis, director of Purdue’s Technical Assistance Program, in the university’s press release. “Purdue’s expertise in health information technology puts us in a great position to help health-care providers engage and utilize these new resources and ultimately boost the health of patients throughout Indiana.”
Ivy Tech’s DOL award of $5 million will allow the college and its partners to implement a state-wide project to train unemployed and displaced workers for careers in IT, among other industries. The program will train nearly 1,200 people for IT-related careers.
“This award enables Ivy Tech to continue doing what it does best – training Hoosiers for meaningful careers,” said Thomas J. Snyder, President of Ivy Tech. “We are proud to help lead the way for Indiana’s future in health information technology.”
IPIC’s award of $4.8 million will help train 600 workers for careers in health care including nursing and allied health positions.
“It is IPIC’s goal to ensure job and education opportunities are available in Indianapolis’ growth industries. We are committed to understanding and anticipating the needs of Indianapolis employers and developing methods to expand the pipeline of workers to fulfill those critical positions,” said Brooke Huntington, President and CEO of IPIC. “This grant funding expands our ability to train residents for important careers in health care.”
The HHS and DOL grant awards are part of an overall $100 billion investment in science, innovation and technology the U.S. government is making through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to spur domestic job creation in growing industries and lay a long-term foundation for economic growth.
To promote the state’s collective assets and national leadership in HIT, BioCrossroads launched Exibhit Indiana (Expanding Indiana’s Breakthroughs in Health Information Technology) in 2009, an initiative focused on advancing the development and effective use of HIT within Indiana and across the U.S.
For more information about BioCrossroads, please visit www.biocrossroads.com.
About BioCrossroads
For more information on BioCrossroads, please visit www.biocrossroads.com.
BioCrossroads (www.biocrossroads.com) is Indiana’s initiative to grow, advance and invest in the life sciences, a public-private collaboration that supports the region’s existing research and corporate strengths while encouraging new business development. BioCrossroads provides money and support to life sciences businesses, launches new life sciences enterprises (Indiana Health Information Exchange, Fairbanks Institute for Healthy Communities, BioCrossroadsLINX, and Datalys Center), expands collaboration and partnerships among Indiana’s life science institutions, promotes science education and markets Indiana’s life sciences industry.