|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Today, Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) joined the leadership and staff of Nicklaus Children’s Hospital to celebrate two major projects for which she secured federal funding and will directly help patients.
These projects will provide tailored medicine for children and increase the hospital’s capacity for mental and behavioral health services. Together, they advance the hospital’s mission of providing the best possible care to improve patient outcomes.
“The doctors and staff at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital are nothing short of miracle workers, and I am proud to support their work in Congress,” said Rep. Salazar. “I am thrilled to have secured over $1.4 million to provide cutting-edge medicine to children and help the hospital confront our nation’s growing mental health crisis.”
Salazar secured the $1.45 million for Nicklaus Children’s as part of the Fiscal Year 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act. Specifically, the projects consist of:
- $1 million was awarded to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital for a Mental Health Facility Expansion. This project will improve mental health services for children by expanding the existing outpatient facilities at the hospital. The new outpatient location will be within a few minutes of the hospital and will include consultation rooms, therapy rooms, and other spaces for patients and families. This is vital to address the growing number of children with mental health concerns.
- $450,000 was awarded to start the cutting-edge Nicklaus Children’s Pharmacogenomic Testing Program. This is a first of its kind initiative to provide individualized medicine to children. With these new methods, we can use children’s unique characteristics and genetics to make tailored medicine just for them. This will deliver more effective treatments and save lives. Nicklaus Children’s is one of the few children’s hospitals in the nation offering this service, and the first of its kind in South Florida.
“Thank you Congresswoman Salazar for everything you do for kids here in South Florida,” said Matthew A. Love, President and CEO of Nicklaus Children’s Health System. “These two projects are just an example of what you’ve done to help us – both on the mental health side and in personalized medicine. On behalf of all the kids here, all the physicians, all the nurses and staff, thank you for supporting Nicklaus Children’s and the community.”
Salazar is a leader on improving mental health treatment in Congress and has successfully advanced mental health and substance abuse prevention legislation which has been signed into law.
Since coming into Congress, Representative Salazar has secured more than $40 million in funding for Florida’s 27th District. Her direct advocacy in Congress resulted in more than $17 million in funding to improve healthcare and climate resiliency in Miami. The Congresswoman also secured nearly $24 million in funding to protect and enhance Miami’s water infrastructure, expand community health centers, and support law enforcement and improve public safety.
