Friday, April 4, 2025
4/4/2025
Congressionally Directed Spending for Construction Projects - Family Health Services Corporation Project Director: Aaron Houston, CEO (208) 734-3312, ext. 6708 ahouston@fhsid.org www.fhsid.org CPF/CDS: Facilities and/or Equipment "Construction" Project: $1,550,000 in grant funds. Family Health Services seeks $1,550,000 in CPF/CDS funding for an emergency services infrastructure project including a helipad and an ambulance bay adjacent to a new Community Health Center being constructed in rural Shoshone, Idaho in 2023-2024 to serve over 5,300 individuals residing in Lincoln County. Three small and very rural communities comprise Lincoln County, specifically Shoshone, Dietrich, and Richfield. The comprehensive emergency services infrastructure project will provide access to crucial emergency medical transport into and out of the rural communities and will generate the most favorable health outcomes. FHS provides primary health care needs in a very rural part of Idaho serving as a conduit to the popular Sun Valley area. Emergencies occur often, ranging from vehicle accidents to agriculturally related injuries. The rural location limits quick response/transport in medical emergencies – with the nearest hospitals/ER departments 20 and 32 minutes away, respectively. Lincoln County does not have current access to a helipad to facilitate the myriad medical emergencies that present in Lincoln County each year. Our funding request funds the construction of a helipad and a tandem-style ambulance bay attached to the new clinic with six entry/exit doors. The County EMS services staff will work and operate out of the new ambulance bay facility. The ambulance bay will include limited living quarters, with two bedrooms, an office, full bath with shower, a 1/2 bath, a shared kitchen and living room, and a storage and fire resistance room. A 50' x 50' helipad will be constructed a short distance from the ambulance bay for easy transport out to critical access hospitals. 2022 data from Countyhealthrankings.org shows Lincoln County has a very high patient to primary care physician ratio at 5,370 patients for every physician and the highest number of injury deaths per year out of the eight counties in our service area (112 deaths). Lincoln County has the highest rate of premature death in all Idaho counties. Lincoln County tops the list again with 44 percent of driving deaths in Lincoln County Data a result of alcohol impairment. Access to the combined helipad and ambulance bay will yield more positive health outcomes from injury and vehicle emergencies. Forty-nine percent of Lincoln County residents have a long commute while driving alone, the 2nd highest in the FHS service area. Only Camas County – considered frontier vs. rural – is higher at 63 percent. Overall, Lincoln County ranks one of the least healthy counties in Idaho at 41 out of 44 counties for Health Outcomes and Health Factors. Investment in this project will create a robust health services and emergency network capable of expediting access to emergency care for Lincoln County. Our proposal aims to improve health equity and reduce health disparities often disproportionately inherent in rural communities lacking comprehensive, high-quality emergency response infrastructure.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).