96The Military Engineer l May-June l 2010 2009 Continuing Promise and Pacific Partnership As in previous years, the USPHS part- nered with the Navy and other host- country partners and non-governmen- tal organizations during the annual humanitarian assistance missions Con- tinuing Promise in Latin America and the Caribbean and Paci?c Partnership in the Paci?c region. The 2009 Continuing Promise mis- sion was conducted in Antigua, Co- lombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Panama, while 2009 Paci?c Partnership opera- tions were conducted in the countries of Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati, Solomon Is- lands and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. USPHS engineers who deployed on these missions provided technical guidance and support to the successful completions of the various vector con- trol, sanitation and waste management projects. Unlike previous years, the 2009 mis- sions conducted more expeditionary- type activities. For example, the 2009 Paci?c Partnership was entirely expe- ditionary—all engineering and medi- cal services were delivered ashore and included a number of smaller, one- or two-day medical outreaches ashore with 10 or fewer medical profession- als hand-carrying what they needed to treat an island population of no more than a few hundred patients. For the 2010 missions, USPHS engineers are actively involved in the planning activi- ties, including conducting pre-deploy- ment site surveys in Vietnam along with our colleagues from the Navy Seabees. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act As part of the Recovery Act, HHS re- ceived signi?cant funding for health- care and water and wastewater con- struction projects. Speci?c funding was appropriated for projects managed by the Health Resources and Service Ad- ministration (HRSA), Indian Health Service (IHS) and National Institutes of Health (NIH). With one of every 19 people living in the U.S. relying on HRSA-funded clinic for primary care, the $1.5 billion Recovery Act HRSA appropriation will make a signi?cant impact on improv- ing the healthcare delivery to these un- derserved populations. Three different types of grants have been awarded to existing Section 330-funded organiza- tions (health centers and health cen- ter controlled networks). An estimated 1,130 health centers have received more than $862 million of Capital Im- provement Program grants to conduct construction, repair, renovation and equipment purchases. A total of $250 million will be provided to support electronic health record development for the health centers. An additional $512 million will fund an estimated 100 major facility construction projects, in- cluding: $11 million to Health Services Inc., Montgomery, Ala.; $12 million to Contra Costa County Health Services, Martinez, Calif.; $12 million to Unity Health Care Inc., Washington, D.C.; and $12 million to Urban Health Plan Inc., of Bronx, N.Y. Recovery Act funding will be used to increase IHSs effectiveness in providing a comprehensive health service delivery system for approximately 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives who belong to 562 federally-recognized tribes in 35 states. The approximately $600 million Recovery Act appropriation will fund the following efforts: • $227 million to complete the replace- ment of the hospital and staff quarter at Eagle Butte, S.D., and complete the replacement of the 150,000-ft2 hos- pital facility at Nome, Alaska. These shovel-ready projects are currently under construction. • $68 million of direct Recovery Act funding and an additional $90 mil- Construction of the Indian Health Service Eagle Butte Health Center, S.D., will be carried out with funding from the Recovery Act. Image courtesy USPHS
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