Washington, D.C. – Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva today congratulated Tucosn’s El Rio Community Health Center, of which he was an original supporter, for receiving a $1 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services to expand the use of electronic health records (EHR), which increase the quality of care and the accuracy of treatment for patients who change doctors.

The money this week comes as part of $83.9 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act support for electronic health records nationwide. Forty-five new grants in 27 states are being assigned to support EHR and health information technology implementation projects. Health care professionals who can demonstrate how their EHR efforts are improving patient care can become eligible for incentive payments provided under Medicaid and Medicare.

Each grant was awarded on a competitive basis.

“El Rio has been doing important community work for decades in an underserved part of Tucson, and this grant will help bring them much further along in making quality health care available to the city,” Grijalva said. “I congratulate them for receiving this competitive grant, and I look forward to further expanding EHR in the future, both as a cost-saving measure for health care professionals and a way to improve care for all patients regardless of income or health status.”

The Arizona Office of Economic Recovery received $9.3 million to expand EHR statewide in March. The center-specific HHS grants are separate from the state funding.

For more information, contact El Rio at (520) 792-9890.