The Keystone Rural Health Consortia based in Emporium will soon
receive $560,000 in federal funding to support vital health care
services to the underserved population across a five-county
area.

The announcement was made Tuesday by U.S. Rep. John Peterson,
R-Pa.

Officials said the funding was through a grant by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services as part of a larger
spending bill totaling $1.78 billion featuring the community health
center budget.

All told, more than 35,000 people across McKean, Elk, Cameron,
Potter and Centre counties will be affected by the funding.

“Without community health centers like the ones organized by the
Keystone Consortia, primary and preventive health care services
would be tough for residents in rural areas to come by,” Peterson,
who serves as co-chairman of the Congressional Rural Caucus and is
up for re-election this year, said.

“Since the moment I arrived in Congress, delivering better, more
affordable rural health care has been a top priority of mine …”

A non-profit, private consortia led by a community board of
directors, Keystone Rural Health provides primary and dental care
to the uninsured and underinsured. The organization was formed in
1976 and is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

“We are pleased to once again partner with the federal
government to continue our service to the residents of rural
Pennsylvania,” Keystone Administrator Michael Galluzzi said. “There
are a lot of rural areas we have facilities in that are considered
health shortage areas. We provide an option and reduce barriers
caused by geographic location and financial barriers.”

Officials said over the past year, Keystone has provided
services to more than 8,100 individual patients, generating close
to 30,000 individual visits.

Keystone currently provides services at the Cameron County
Health Care and Dental Centers in Emporium; The Family Center in
Emporium; Central Potter Health Center in Coudersport; Mountain Top
Area Medical Center in Snow Shoe; Misty Valley Health Center in
Smethport; and the Johnsonburg Dental Center.

Galluzzi said the organization has slightly more than 50 staff
members, including four doctors, two dentists, two dental
hygienists and four mid-level providers which include physician
assistants and nurse practitioners.

“We have really expanded into a regional provider,” Galluzzi
said. “We are definitely going through a growth period. All this
was done from one little seed planted by some people in Cameron
County 30 years ago.”

According to Galluzzi, there is a sliding fee for patients using
the consortia, who also have to qualify financially.

“It catches those people that don’t qualify for medical
assistance benefits, but still can’t pay for health insurance out
of their pockets,” Galluzzi said. “It’s based on federal poverty
guidelines.”

For example, Galluzzi said a family of four with a family income
less than $25,000 would only have to pay 20 percent of the doctor’s
fee. He added as the income level goes up, the percentage discount
also rises.

“The congressman is an ardent supporter of community health
center funding that’s generous, but also as flexible as possible,”
Peterson’s Communications Director Chris Tucker said.

This is not the first time a local agency has received a large
federal grant through the Department of Health and Human
Services.

Last October, The Guidance Center in Bradford was awarded a
$700,000 grant to upgrade and expand the center’s early literacy
and learning readiness programs.