July 9, 2002

$600,000 Federal Grant to Help Fund Idaho Hispanic Wellness Initiative

A federal grant worth more than $600,000 will help support a Hispanic wellness initiative in Idaho.

Boise-based Mountain States Group, in collaboration with Boise State University department of nursing, has received a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources Administration (HRSA). The grant, titled “The Idaho Hispanic Wellness Initiative: La Buena Salud,” is for approximately $205,000 per year for three years. It is designed to:

• Educate Idaho university students and practicing health professionals in an interdisciplinary approach to culturally appropriate wellness care.

• Deliver wellness services to rural Hispanic families in nontraditional home and community-based settings.

• Increase the percentage of Hispanic students entering the health professions as well as increase retention of rural health-care practitioners.

The Boise State nursing department will use its portion of the grant, about $150,000 per year, to lease a mobile unit that will deliver health-screening supplies and educational materials to rural Hispanic farmworker communities on a regular basis. The mobile unit will provide wellness screening services and referrals to rural health-care providers.

Interdisciplinary teams of students and faculty will participate in training on various health-care practices and cultural issues. The Boise State department of nursing will work closely with local community services, government agencies and health-care agencies such as the Lions Club, the Idaho Migrant Council and Terry Reilly Health Services to provide education for students and health services for Hispanics in rural areas.

Founded in 1974, Mountain States Group is a private nonprofit organization with office locations in Boise, Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint; Duluth, Minn.; and in the countries of Bulgaria, Macedonia, Poland and Romania. The Idaho Rural Health Education Center, a unit of MSG, will administer The Idaho Hispanic Wellness Initiative. MSG’s array of programs address children’s issues, access to rural health care, HIV prevention, mental health advocacy, mental health services and refugee settlement.

Contact:
Pam Springer
Nursing
426-3600