Washington - U.S. Senators Robert Menendez (D - NJ) and Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) today announced that the New Jersey Institute of Technology has been awarded $23,048,351 in federal funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to establish a Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (REC). The Center will advance the use of electronic health records by offering technical support and guidance to local health care providers.

"These resources will help New Jersey create an electronic medical network that improves patient care, reduces costs, and allows for the seamless exchange of information," said Lautenberg, who as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee helped author the Recovery Act. "Establishing tech support centers throughout the country will ensure doctors have the help they need to move our health care system into the 21st century."

"Ensuring that our family doctors can digitally organize our medical histories in order to better coordinate our care with our other providers makes our health care more accurate and efficient," said Senator Menendez. It also creates high-tech jobs. This is exactly the type of investment to help rebuild America that we had in mind when we passed the Recovery Act."

Funded by the ARRA, this grant award is part of the Department of Health and Human Service's $2 billion effort to achieve widespread use of health IT by the year 2014.

For additional information about Health IT Regional Extension Centers, click here: http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=1495&mode=2

Information about other health IT programs funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 can be found here: http://HealthIT.HHS.gov

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