Health Resources and Services Administration

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, established in 1982. The HRSA combines the functions of two former agencies, the Health Resources Administration and the Health Services Administration. Part of the Public Health Service, the HRSA is charged with improving the health services available to the people of the U.S. and with developing health care and maintenance systems to carry out that goal. The agency also provides direct health care to certain segments of the population.

The HRSA maintains four bureaus to carry out its duties. The Bureau of Health Care Delivery and Assistance offers health care to federal employees with work-related injuries and illnesses. It also provides personnel and support services to the medical programs of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Its programs are especially concerned with meeting the health needs of communities in medically underserved areas and special populations such as migrant workers. The Bureau of Health Professions provides leadership in developing and using the nation's health personnel and resources; it administers training programs in the health-care field; and it helps to promote access to both health services and careers in health care to the disadvantaged. The Bureau of Health Resources Development administers federal policy and programs pertaining to health care facilities, coordinates activities associated with organ donations and transplants, and directs the federal campaign against acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The Maternal and Child Health Bureau is involved with the promotion of health care for mothers and children, as well as the provision of care for pediatric AIDS patients and hemophilia patients. The bureau also works to improve the effectiveness of child health care systems.

The Indian Health Service, formerly a part of HRSA is now an independent agency within the Public Health Service.