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Recovery fund use in southwest Kansas
GARDEN CITY, KAN.
(hppr) -
Project Feel Safe is just what it sounds like: a project to increase security and its perception. The Garden City, Kansas Police Department is implementing Project Feel Safe in response to a citywide citizen survey. Police Chief James Hawkins says citizens listed several safety concerns on the survey and its follow-up.
Lighting, lack of patrol, gang issues, and criminal activity in general so we have essentially stepped up patrol in those areas.
Project Feel Safe has a few different components. The police department will be stepping up patrol in the neighborhoods that complained of security problems. Plus the department will purchase surveillance equipment and computer software as well as a tipline for receiving anonymous text messages. The new technology will be paid for through a grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a grant for a little more than 100,000 dollars. The police department has three years to spend the grant money. Hawkins says without the grant it would be difficult to implement this project. The new surveillance cameras will expand and enhance current equipment.
Surveillance cameras, which are something that we can put up in high crime areas and monitor the activity so that we can possibly identify graffiti artists, burglars, or whatever crime is occurring at the time. So surveillance cameras and the software and hardware to monitor those cameras, because you can't just put the camera up you need to watch it.
The department will also purchase more radars and in-car cameras. The grant money should enable all the police cars to have an in-car computer, which will allow officers to monitor the surveillance cameras and respond. So far, the money hasn't been used yet. Hawkins says they're still in the process of researching equipment. There's accountability for their spending the police department will have to report they've bought the equipment they said they would and demonstrate that activities and the equipment are doing what they promised. Another organization that will be impacted by recovery funds and significantly more of them is the United Methodist Mexican American Ministries care centers. Stephanie Waggoner is the chief executive officer. Waggoner says they received two different types of grants. One is a grant of 227,000 dollars for increasing service.
And so what we did with those funds was recruit a physician for our Liberal clinic full time, which we've never had down there, so we're excited. We actually just signed a contract with that physician and he'll be starting in March. So that is occurring. In Garden City, we're actually still trying to work on the logistics of what we're going to be doing with expanding hours and providers and that sort of thing. So that's still in the works and in the planning stages with that grant.
The clinics operate on a sliding fee scale based on income. People come for primary care services like going to the family physician, also chronic disease management, and a substantial amount of prenatal care. There are four clinics, one each in Garden City, Liberal, Ulysses, and Dodge City. The Ulysses and Dodge City clinics will get equipment but as far as expanding service Waggoner says they determined that the Liberal and Garden City clinics were in the most need at this time. Both of those clinics will also benefit from the other grant of 479,000 dollars for capital improvements. The Liberal clinic only has a couple of exam rooms, its capacity will increase to 5 or six. The Garden City clinic will have an additional 3 or 4 exam rooms. The renovations probably won't start until after the first of the year. The four clinics combined see a little over 6,000 patients a year.
As far as uninsured we consider our self-pay individuals who come as being the traditional uninsured and it's probably about 75%.
Waggoner says these grants are a rare opportunity for renovations and expansion of service especially for community health centers. She thinks sometimes their motto is do more with less. I'm Lindsey Fields, HPPR News.
© Copyright 2009, hppr
(2009-10-27)
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Lighting, lack of patrol, gang issues, and criminal activity in general so we have essentially stepped up patrol in those areas.
Project Feel Safe has a few different components. The police department will be stepping up patrol in the neighborhoods that complained of security problems. Plus the department will purchase surveillance equipment and computer software as well as a tipline for receiving anonymous text messages. The new technology will be paid for through a grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a grant for a little more than 100,000 dollars. The police department has three years to spend the grant money. Hawkins says without the grant it would be difficult to implement this project. The new surveillance cameras will expand and enhance current equipment.
Surveillance cameras, which are something that we can put up in high crime areas and monitor the activity so that we can possibly identify graffiti artists, burglars, or whatever crime is occurring at the time. So surveillance cameras and the software and hardware to monitor those cameras, because you can't just put the camera up you need to watch it.
The department will also purchase more radars and in-car cameras. The grant money should enable all the police cars to have an in-car computer, which will allow officers to monitor the surveillance cameras and respond. So far, the money hasn't been used yet. Hawkins says they're still in the process of researching equipment. There's accountability for their spending the police department will have to report they've bought the equipment they said they would and demonstrate that activities and the equipment are doing what they promised. Another organization that will be impacted by recovery funds and significantly more of them is the United Methodist Mexican American Ministries care centers. Stephanie Waggoner is the chief executive officer. Waggoner says they received two different types of grants. One is a grant of 227,000 dollars for increasing service.
And so what we did with those funds was recruit a physician for our Liberal clinic full time, which we've never had down there, so we're excited. We actually just signed a contract with that physician and he'll be starting in March. So that is occurring. In Garden City, we're actually still trying to work on the logistics of what we're going to be doing with expanding hours and providers and that sort of thing. So that's still in the works and in the planning stages with that grant.
The clinics operate on a sliding fee scale based on income. People come for primary care services like going to the family physician, also chronic disease management, and a substantial amount of prenatal care. There are four clinics, one each in Garden City, Liberal, Ulysses, and Dodge City. The Ulysses and Dodge City clinics will get equipment but as far as expanding service Waggoner says they determined that the Liberal and Garden City clinics were in the most need at this time. Both of those clinics will also benefit from the other grant of 479,000 dollars for capital improvements. The Liberal clinic only has a couple of exam rooms, its capacity will increase to 5 or six. The Garden City clinic will have an additional 3 or 4 exam rooms. The renovations probably won't start until after the first of the year. The four clinics combined see a little over 6,000 patients a year.
As far as uninsured we consider our self-pay individuals who come as being the traditional uninsured and it's probably about 75%.
Waggoner says these grants are a rare opportunity for renovations and expansion of service especially for community health centers. She thinks sometimes their motto is do more with less. I'm Lindsey Fields, HPPR News.
© Copyright 2009, hppr
