A health professor and researcher at Marshall University has received a $1.3 million federal grant to continue health care work in areas affected by coal in West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio.
The university said the recipient is Richard D. Crespo of the Department of Family and Community Health at the medical school. The grant is from the Appalachian Regional Commission and is for work with high-risk diabetes patients.
The university said in a news release the grant will fund the creation of care coordination teams that include community health workers who will work with patients in their homes and communities. The goal is to provide the patients with self-management skills to control their condition.
Crespo says the grant will allow establishing sustainable funding for people who work at the community level.
