County Awards Nine Health Care Grants Totaling $360,000

In A 4-1 vote Tuesday, the Highlands County commissioners awarded nine grants for health care totaling more than $360,000 as recommended by the Highlands County Hospital District Board.

Commissioners approved the following grants:

•Highlands County Early Learning Coalition, $72,000;

•Children's Advocacy Center of Highlands County, $17,615;

•Children's Services Foundation, $6,000, which will be used for eye exams;

•Kinsley L. Cox Living Memorial Fund, which assists families in getting out-of county medical care for seriously ill or injured children, $10,000.

•Highlands County Health Department, for primary care services, $107,000;

•Highlands County Health Department's "Closing the Gap" program for diabetes treatment, $25,000;

•Highlands County Teen Pregnancy Prevention Alliance, $15,000;

•Samaritan's Touch Care Center, $107,000; and

•South Florida Community College's dental clinic, $10,000.

Commissioner Edgar Stokes cast the lone vote against the grant awards. He said he was disappointed that more funding was not allocated to the county health department.

The grant money comes from rent paid by Highlands Regional Medical Center to the county, which owns the hospital's grounds and buildings.

The five-member board of directors of the hospital district, appointed by the county commissioners, evaluates requests for the annual grants and recommends funding awards to the commissioners.

Commissioner Don Bates, the commissioner's liaison to the hospital district board, and John DeCerbo, a hospital district board member, said the board will discuss improving its grant allocation process and monitoring of grants at its next quarterly meeting in November. DeCerbo said the hospital board has agreed to improve its evaluation of funding requests, and also plans to initiate greater review of how grants are spent.