• January 31, 2017

Bottineau community benefits from BCBSND Rural Health Grant

Funds used to incorporate adaptive equipment into special education program

FARGO – Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota (BCBSND) is pleased to share St. Andrew's Health Center (SAHC) in Bottineau was awarded a $2,600 BCBSND Rural Health Grant. The grant was used to purchase adaptive equipment for the Bottineau Public School special education program, providing area students with special needs more opportunities for physical activity.

According to the grant application, the special education population spans a wide variety of disabilities and diagnoses, and a growing trend in serving special needs students is to consider and evaluate their sensory and movement needs. With both ADHD and autism numbers on the rise, many of the students Bottineau Public School serve have a valid need for sensory and movement techniques and therapies to be built into their school day.

The BCBSND Rural Health Grant Program is a collaborative with the Center for Rural Health (CRH) at the University of North Dakota (UND). The purpose is to support local health care providers and their communities by offering funding for projects that champion increased physical activity and promote the health and well-being of rural North Dakotans.

"Our commitment to North Dakota extends well beyond the products and services that deliver peace of mind to our members. It extends to supporting the very communities that we serve and where our members live and work," said Tim Huckle, BCBSND president and CEO.  "We are so impressed by the local collaborations that are formed in support of these quality projects."

Through an agreement with BCBSND to help develop and administer the program, CRH facilitates the application process and review, notifies the grantees of their award determinations, and monitors each program's progress through the year and releases the grant funds. CRH has administered the program since its inception. A complete listing of the recipients from each cycle of the program is available on the CRH website, http://www.ruralhealth.und.edu/projects/bcbs-grant-program.