Rahall Secures $520,000 for Cabell County Initiatives
The House of Representatives Tuesday gave final approval to the conference report on the Fiscal Year 2008 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill, containing $520,000 secured by Representative Nick Rahall, D-WV, for educational programs at St. Mary's Medical Center and Huntington Junior College.
"As the largest medical facility in the tri-state region and Cabell County's largest private employer, St. Mary's is something of a powerhouse in southern West Virginia," said Rahall. "I am proud to play a role in helping this fine institution continue to provide quality health care to our communities as it has for the last 40 years."
Rahall's funding will be used in the relocation and expansion of the hospital's Center for Education, which includes the St. Mary's School of Nursing, the St. Mary's School of Radiography, and the St. Mary's School of Respiratory Care. To date, Rahall has secured more than $1 million in federal funding for the Center for Education, which will allow for a 20 percent increase in enrollment.
St. Mary's Medical Center Foundation schools are fully accredited and are affiliated with Marshall University. The Foundation has also partnered with the Rahall Transportation Institute to educate area children and their families about transportation-related safety through the Transportation Injury Prevention and Safety (TIPS) program.
Rahall also secured $120,000 to be used to further Huntington Junior College's captioning program. This program prepares students for careers in captioning for broadcast television and internet programs or in providing instantaneous text translation for the deaf or hard-of-hearing population in education, civic, and corporate settings.
"The captioning specialty at Huntington Junior College is the only one of its kind in the state," Rahall said. "This funding will allow West Virginia students take advantage of this groundbreaking program and train for high-paying, high-tech jobs."
The bill must also be approved by the U.S. Senate before being sent to the White House. President Bush has threatened to veto the legislation.