FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                                                  CONTACT: Erin McNeill

February 27, 2009                                                                                                                 (617) 722-1551

                                                                                                                                                 erin.mcneill@state.ma.us

 

Morton Hospital in Taunton receives $300,000 grant

 Senator Marc R. Pacheco is pleased to announce that Morton Hospital and Medical Center in Taunton has won a $300,000 grant from the state’s Essential Community Provider Trust Fund.

 “Morton Hospital provides critically needed access for a wide range of patient care for the people of Taunton and the surrounding area,” said Pacheco (D-Taunton). “This was a highly competitive process. We worked hard to advocate on behalf of Morton and the people it serves, and ultimately the evaluators recognized the essential place Morton occupies in caring for vulnerable members of the community.”

 The goal of the trust fund is to improve providers’ abilities to serve populations in need more effectively and efficiently through community-based care: clinical support; disease management; primary care; care coordination; and pharmacy management services.

 In selecting Morton for this grant, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services considered the financial need of the hospital, the quality of its management, and the key role the hospital plays in the Commonwealth’s health delivery system in order to maintain equitable access to key services. The grant will be paid in early March.

 “The Patrick Administration is committed to ensuring access to both preventive and acute care, particularly as we continue the successful implementation of health care reform,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. JudyAnn Bigby. “The Essential Community Provider Trust Fund gives needed support to hospitals and community health centers at the forefront of patient care.”

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