Amata Announces $200 Thousand in Interior Grants for AS

Washington, DC –Wednesday,Congresswoman Aumua Amata, was pleased to announce the awarding of $212,800 in technical assistance funding from the Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs. The funding will be used for three initiatives to improve healthcare on the island.

"Being relatively small and geographically isolated from any major land mass, funding plays a crucial role in the improvement to our island's healthcare system," stated Amata. "There is still much to be done when it comes to healthcare improvement in our islands, but we remain optimistic that we can bring some real positive changes soon, and are of course thankful for every bit of funding we receive."

According to DOI's statement on the technical assistance fund, the projects funded by this grant are:

Cancer Patient Navigator Program - $108,320 to the American Samoa Cancer Coalition to assess and modify the community-based Patient Navigation System, which will be implemented through LBJ Medical Center to improve access and guidance in cancer treatment healthcare for affected American Samoa residents.

Comprehensive Clinical Documentation Improvement Initiative - $80,200 to LBJ Medical Center to improve clinical charting and documentation amongst physicians, medical coders and billers to improve patient safety outcomes, accountability, clinical preparedness, billing procedures, and overall quality of patient care.

Surgical Wound Care and Certified Hyperbaric Technological Training - $24,280 to LBJ Medical Center to provide for professional training and workforce development and capacity building of the local medical professional workforce, particularly in surgical wound care and certified hyperbaric therapy.

"I want to thank OIA Assistant Secretary Nikolao Pula for these funds, as well as Governor Lolo Moliga and Director Motusa Tuileama Nua for their hard work in obtaining this important funding for American Samoa," concluded Amata.

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