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NEWS
MU gets $1.35 million for rural health initiative
WASHINGTON -- Marshall University has received more than $1.35 million in federal funding for its Southern West Virginia Rural Preventive Medicine and "Virtual Colonoscopy" Outreach Project.
The money from the Department of Health and Human Services will support the continued deployment of two preventive mobile medical units in southern West Virginia. The units conduct health promotion, disease prevention and cancer screening programs, with a special focus on colorectal cancer.
The money also will help Marshall's Center for Rural Health develop the technological and professional skills necessary to establish a regional "Virtual Colonoscopy" program to deploy the most advanced cancer screening and care throughout the region. The center will collaborate with the professional medical staff of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in the endeavors.
In Southern West Virginia, the death rate from colorectal cancer is almost triple the national average at 52 per 100,000, according to a press release from the office of U.S. Sen Robert Byrd, D-W.Va. West Virginians have a higher rate of chronic illnesses in general, particularly among those living in rural areas. The state ranks first in the nation in mortality rate from heart disease and ranks third in mortality rates for cancer and diabetes.
"With a rural population that is older, less mobile, uninsured, underinsured, and in many instances unhealthy, this funding will go an extremely long way towards increasing access to health care and catching medical problems before they become life threatening," Byrd said in the press release.
As the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Byrd helped secure the funding.
