NEWS
FROM
SENATOR TOM DASCHLE and
SENATOR TIM JOHNSON
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ted Miller, 202-224-0224
Tuesday, August 17, 2004 Julianne Fisher, 202-224-1638
Daschle, Johnson Announce $271,512 Grant to Build
Cheyenne River Nursing Home
WASHINGTON,
DC – Senator Tom Daschle and Senator Tim Johnson
announced today that the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe
will receive a grant of $271,512 to begin development
of a nursing home for tribal elders. Daschle and
Johnson secured the funding in the fiscal year 2004
appropriations bill for the Department of Health
and Human Services.
The
nearest nursing home facility to the Cheyenne River
reservation is 60 miles away a distance that makes
travel inconvenient and forces seniors in need of
nursing home care to leave the reservation and the
comfort of nearby family and friends.
“A
new nursing home on Cheyenne River will allow community
members to take special care of their own elders,”
Senator Daschle said. “Seniors will receive
the skilled care they need without having to leave
the community. The facility will improve health
care services for Cheyenne River families, giving
them the peace of mind that they won’t need
to travel long distances to visit their elders.
This funding will get the engine going for construction
and administration of the new nursing home.”
“People
on Cheyenne River should be able to receive care
near their homes as they reach their golden years.
This facility will keep seniors closer to their
families, and provide the necessary health care
to this aging population. Senator Daschle and I
made this important project a priority during last
year’s funding cycle,” said Johnson,
a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
In
2003, tribal officials approached the senators and
requested their help in securing funds for startup
and administrative costs for the nursing home project.
Daschle and Johnson worked with their Senate colleagues
to provide for these costs as part of the Departments
of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education,
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2004.
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