Northwest Health Services, Inc., is a federally-assisted Community Health Center with nine locations in northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas, providing comprehensive primary medical care to 23,000 users in a nine-county area. Northwest Health Services, Inc., plans to expand its service area to include Harrison County, Missouri. The Cainsville Medical Clinic, when this expansion is approved, will become part of Northwest Health Services, Inc. The Cainsville Medical Clinic does not have access to the Internet. This application proposes to expand Northwest Health Services, Inc.'s existing frame relay system and Internet access to include the Cainsville Medical Clinic. Internet access will enable the medical staff to access the National Library of Medicine and many other informational and educational resources in the quest to provide high-quality health care to underserved people. It will also enable electronic communication with Northwest Health Services, Inc.'s corporate office in St. Joseph, Missouri. Successful expansion of Northwest Health Services, Inc.'s information system network to include the Cainsville Medical Clinic will require the purchase of hubs, routers, and miscellaneous minor connecting equipment, the payment of equipment installation costs and maintenance fees, and the payment of frame relay installation costs and monthly access fees.
