(KAIR)--Kanza Mental Health and Guidance Center has been awarded nearly $1.4 million through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment's Rural Health Transformation Program. The agency was one of only 22 organizations selected statewide, chosen from a pool of 80 applicants, as part of a $50 million grant initiative targeting rural healthcare partnerships.

Kanza Mental Health, which serves the local Kansas counties of Brown, Doniphan, Jackson, and Nemaha, will use the funding to build a formal partnership with the Northeast Kansas Multi-County Health Departments. The collaboration is designed to expand access to preventative and primary care services, increase health screenings and referrals, and better coordinate behavioral health and public health resources for residents across the region.

Kanza CEO Krista Eylar says the partnership represents a new direction for rural care delivery in northeast Kansas, connecting behavioral health, public health, and primary care services under a more coordinated system. Eylar says the goal is not to replace existing providers, but to close service gaps and reduce fragmentation for individuals most at risk.

The grant period runs through the next year, with Kanza and the NEK Multi-County Health Departments working to establish the formal structure of the partnership.