U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (R-Bainbridge Township) today announced that the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) will provide a $250,000 grant for the Ashtabula County Medical Center (ACMC) to create an Electronic Medical Records system.

 This marks the first ARC grant awarded in Ashtabula County since it was added to the Appalachian Regional Commission.

 LaTourette said the grant will help offset the cost of going to a more accurate, efficient electronic record keeping system at the hospital.  He said the ACMC is the leading healthcare provider in the county, and the patient load is 52.5 percent Medicare and 20.2 percent Medicaid, with $6 million provided annually for charity care to patients unable to pay for their medical care.

 “It is expensive to convert to an electronic system but it is the wave of the future and will soon be required,” LaTourette said.  “I’m thrilled that ARC funding will help make this a reality in Ashtabula County, and I hope this grant award jumpstarts the process for other ARC assistance in the county.”

 Ashtabula County was recently added as an ARC county due to a change in the law spearheaded by LaTourette.  The ARC designation makes the county eligible for additional federal funding, and the designation is particularly useful to leverage other funding for projects.

On October 8, 2008, President George W. Bush signed into law the Appalachian Regional Development Act Amendments of 2008, which reauthorizes the Appalachian Regional Commission for five years, through September 30, 2012.  This Act added 10 new counties to the Appalachian Region, including Ashtabula County.  LaTourette said membership in the ARC makes a county eligible for federal funding not available to non-ARC counties, and can be used with great success to leverage other funding for all sorts of projects, from infrastructure to health care to tourism to economic development. 

 In this instance, the ARC grant will be supplemented by $1,007,000 provided by the medical center, making the total investment in the electronic records system at $1.257 million.
 The Ashtabula County Medical Center is affiliated with the Cleveland Clinic, considered an industry pioneer and leader in making medical records electronic.  LaTourette said the move to create an electronic system in Ashtabula will be instrumental in saving time and providing accuracy when Ashtabula patients and their records are transferred to the Clinic.