Nebraska Blue Foundation awards Project Access $600,000 to expand health care access in rural Nebraska

The Nebraska Blue Foundation has awarded a $600,000 grant to Project Access, a Health Center Association of Nebraska (HCAN) program that supports seven Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) across the state. 

FQHCs provide health care to underserved populations. The investment from the Nebraska Blue Foundation will specifically support Nebraska’s four rural FQHCs as they work to expand access to primary care, behavioral health and dental services. The four FQHCs include Community Action Health Center in Gering, Good Neighbor Community Health Center in Columbus, Heartland Health Center in Grand Island and Midtown Health Center in Norfolk. 

According to HCAN, Nebraska’s FQHCs, also known as Community Health Centers, served over 121,000 patients in 2023 with integrated primary care, preventive services, chronic disease management and support services addressing a variety of health needs.  

“Community Health Centers are key to providing high quality, affordable health care to Nebraska’s underserved populations,” said Jenna Thomsen, director of strategy and development at HCAN. “The Nebraska Blue Foundation’s donation to Project Access will help recruit health care providers and mitigate barriers many rural Nebraskans face when accessing care.” 

Those barriers to care include transportation and working hours that make it difficult to schedule appointments. This can lead to increased no-show rates and a lack of efficiency within clinic operations. 

HCAN reports 13 of 93 Nebraska counties have no primary care physicians, 44 counties have no OB-GYN physicians and 78 counties have no practicing psychiatrists. Project Access, with the help of the Nebraska Blue Foundation’s grant, works to improve those conditions by funding recruitment and retention, optimizing clinic operations, improving facilities and programming and developing a pipeline of rural health care workers, among other things. 

“Our state faces unique challenges in delivering health care in rural areas,” Jay Warren-Teamer, executive director of the Nebraska Blue Foundation and director of diversity, equity and inclusion at BCBSNE, said. “Access to quality care shouldn’t depend on where you live. This investment addresses the challenges many Nebraskans face, making sure they have access to care no matter their ZIP code.” 

Learn more about Project Access at HCANebraska.org/ProjectAccess. 

Learn more about the Nebraska Blue Foundation at NebraskaBlue.com/Foundation.