National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Established in 1930 and headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, the NIH is the primary federal agency for research toward preventing and curing disease worldwide. Its mission is the pursuit of knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to extend healthy life and reduce the burdens of illness and disability. The NIH is comprised of 27 institutes and centers that focus on different diseases and conditions, including cancer, ophthalmology, heart, lung, and blood disorders, genes, aging, alcoholism and drug abuse, infectious diseases, chronic diseases, children’s diseases, and mental health. Although the NIH has sponsored external research, it also has a large internal research program. Nearly 150 Nobel Prize winners have received NIH funding, which has led to the development of the MRI, how viruses can cause cancer, insights into cholesterol control, and other important advances in medicine ( NIH, 2016 ).
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
Created in 1982 and headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, the HRSA is the primary federal agency for improving access to healthcare services for people in every state who are uninsured, isolated, or medically vulnerable. The five organizational goals are improving access to quality healthcare, strengthening the health care workforce, building healthy communities, improving health equity, and strengthening HRSA management and operations. The HRSA has six bureaus: primary health care, health professions, healthcare systems, maternal and child health, the HIV/AIDS bureau, and the Bureau of Clinician Recruitment and Service. The HRSA provides funding to grantees that provide health care to those vulnerable populations. It also oversees organ, bone marrow, and cord blood donation; supports programs against bioterrorism; and maintains databases that protect against healthcare malpractice and healthcare waste, fraud, and abuse. Tens of millions of Americans get affordable health care and other help through the HRSA’s 100-plus programs and more than 3,000 grantees ( HRSA, 2016 ).