Wauneta Care & Therapy gains $511,000 USDA grant

    Improving access to modern and sustainable healthcare infrastructure is a goal of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Emergency Rural Health Care Grants Program.
    Recently, more than $1 million in grant funds came to Nebraska from that program, and one of the recipients is the village of Wauneta.
    A $511,820 Emergency Rural Health Care Grant was awarded to the village for updating the city-owned Wauneta Care & Therapy Center.
    The grant provides for the removal/replacement of the facility’s heating and cooling system which took place this summer, and a new generator.
    The new heating/cooling system added individual terminal air conditioner and heat pump units, and new efficient furnaces for the building’s central heating and air conditioning. Improvements include an air filtration system to address COVID-19 and potential future pandemics concerns, ensuring air safety of its residents. The system does not exchange air between rooms.
    Funding also provides for the installation of an emergency generator at the care center.  
    Village Clerk Evelyn Skelton said the grant will pay for 55% of those costs.
    Wauneta was one of just three Nebraska communities to receive the $1,020,307 in grants coming into the state, and is the largest of the three.
    Other recipients were the Jefferson Community Health Center, which received a $443,486 grant, and Harlan County Health Systems, $65,001.
    Nationwide, grants totaling $110 million were given as part of the American Rescue Plan.