SEATTLE, December 16, 2013 -- Today the Pacific Hospital Preservation & Development Authority (Pacific Hospital PDA) announced that it will be awarding grants totaling $1.5 million in 2014 to increase access to health resources and reduce health disparities among underserved populations in the Puget Sound region.

The Pacific Hospital PDA will conduct a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) process beginning January 16, 2014. Funding under this RFP is reserved for services located in King County. The grant notifications will be announced in May 2014 for a contract period beginning July 1, 2014. Additional information about the timeline is posted on the Pacific Hospital PDA's Grants to the Community website page.

In the past 10 years, the Pacific Hospital PDA has provided more than $10 million in funding for projects and programs to support health access and improve outcomes.

"We are excited to begin this new phase of our grantmaking," said Jeff Natter, executive director. "These grants will help address the gaps and challenges for people with cultural, linguistic and economic barriers to health access. The Affordable Care Act will help thousands of newly insured residents, but there will still be people who are not eligible for these services, have trouble accessing the services or who need services that the ACA doesn't cover."

Interested applicants are invited to visit the Pacific Hospital PDA website after Jan. 16, 2014 to learn more.

The Pacific Hospital Preservation & Development Authority partners with community organizations to improve access to health care services in Seattle/King County.

In 1981, the City of Seattle chartered the Pacific Hospital PDA, placing in its trust the Pacific Hospital and surrounding campus, a historic Seattle landmark. The Pacific Hospital PDA leases the property. The lease revenues are used to increase access to health resources and to improve health outcomes in King County. In November 2013, the Pacific Hospital PDA announced a 30-year lease with the Washington State Department of Commerce for 75 percent of the Pacific Tower property, effective Jan. 1, 2014.