KELLOGG - The Dirne Medical Center is hoping to land a federal grant to help those without health insurance in Shoshone County.

The nonprofit is applying for a $200,000 grant that would allow it to hire staff and partner with a practice in the county to make healthcare more affordable.

"We will all be thrilled if we get the grant, and we'd have to start 120 days after getting it, so it will be done by the first part of next year," said Mike Baker, Dirne CEO. "If we don't get the grant, we won't have the necessary funding to take on the uninsured in the county."

Baker said that with the grant, Dirne could make a dent into one of Shoshone County's biggest problems.

"If we get this, we will be able to eliminate the access problem. People could go in, and see the doctor and get healthy regardless of insurance," he said. "To be about to say that healthcare in our county isn't a big deal would be huge for everyone."

There have been nearly 800 applications for the grant, and Baker believes that about 200 will be able to be funded by the Bureau of Federal Healthcare program.

Baker encourages people to contact elected officials.

"It's a difficult time right now - and this would ultimately be an expense for them, but the thing they don't realize is that when people don't have access to cheap healthcare, the government winds up spending more," he said. "Community health centers are perfect. They're affordable, and they keep people out of pricey emergency care."