Arizona’s Government Information Technology Agency (GITA) recently awarded Rural Health Information Technology Adoption (RHITA) grants for $685,535. The RHITA Grant Program focuses on helping RHIOs develop health information exchanges to help Arizona’s rural healthcare providers. The grant program is part of the implementation efforts of the Arizona Health-e-Connection Roadmap developed in response to an Executive Order issued by Governor Napolitano.
The 2008 grant awardees are Benson Hospital, Cochise Health Network, Marana Health Center, Regional Center for Border Health, Verde Valley Guidance Center, and Yuma Regional Medical Center.
In addition, the RHITA program provided $298,663 in consulting and educational services to healthcare organizations in rural communities. This funding is being used to hold community meetings statewide to raise the awareness of the benefits of e-health and to enable active RHIO participation.
Also in Arizona, a project called AZ3D is being developed to produce a statewide visualization platform to help improve public safety in the state. The project in conjunction with the Arizona Department of Homeland Security and other state agencies will use imagery and numerous datasets and then incorporate this data into a non-technical internet-based viewing environment. Using these datasets will allow the information to be shared with state and local government emergency planners, first responders, and other decision makers in order to upgrade public safety efforts in the state.
