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City Of Wichita Approves $175K In Funding For Project Access

Deborah Shaar

The city of Wichita is confirming its commitment to Project Access, one day after Sedgwick County recommended eliminating its funding for the nonprofit.

City Council members on Tuesday unanimously approved $175,000 in funding for Project Access for next year. It’s the amount the group requested and the same level of funding it received from the city this year.

"I am very supportive of Project Access," District 1 Rep. Lavonta Williams said. "I thank you for all you do for a community that sometimes feels that there is no one listening to them."

Project Access coordinates medical care for low-income or uninsured people in Sedgwick County. Doctors and hospitals donate their time and facilities needed for treatment.

The funding Project Access receives from the city, Sedgwick County and the United Way of the Plains covers staff expenses, patient prescriptions and medical equipment.

The county is proposing to eliminate the $200,000 it has been providing Project Access. A final decision will come on August 12 when the budget goes before the Sedgwick County Commission for adoption.

Deborah joined the news team at KMUW in September 2014 as a news reporter. She spent more than a dozen years working in news at both public and commercial radio and television stations in Ohio, West Virginia and Detroit, Michigan. Before relocating to Wichita in 2013, Deborah taught news and broadcasting classes at Tarrant County College in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area.