WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded the following three grants totaling $4,590,868:

  • $3,230,446 to Mayville State University for Head Start projects;  
  • $1,071,922 to the North Dakota Department of Health for a cooperative agreement under the Hospital Preparedness program; and
  • $288,500 to the University of North Dakota for the Model State-Supported Area Education Centers.

The funds for Mayville State University come through the Head Start and Early Head Start programs, which promote school readiness for young children and toddlers from low-income families by enhancing their cognitive, social, and emotional development as well as early learning, health, and family well-being. 

The Hospital Preparedness Program provides leadership and funding through cooperative agreements to states, territories, and eligible metropolitan areas to improve the capacity of the health care system to plan for and respond to large-scale emergencies and disasters.

The Model State-Supported Area Health Education Centers improve the distribution, diversity, and quality of health personnel in the health services delivery system by encouraging the regionalization of the health professions schools. These centers establish a network of community-based training sites to provide educational services to students, faculty and practitioners in underserved areas, and ultimately to improve the delivery of health care in the service area.