By KELLY WILSON

Herald-Whig Staff Writer

CARTHAGE, Ill. -- The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $6 million in federal funding for health and education projects in Illinois, including $400,000 for Memorial Hospital in Carthage.

"This certainly is a wonderful first step, but this still needs to go through the budget process for final approval," said Ada Bair, chief executive officer at Memorial Hospital.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., recently announced the projects that are part of the fiscal year 2009 appropriations bill for the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education and Related Agencies Appropriations.

"Sen. Durbin always makes public the projects he is recommending. We are very appreciative that Sen. Durbin has cared so much about the needs that we have," Bair said.

Bair said the $400,000 would help the hospital buy ultrasound and CT equipment.

"This would be a tremendous addition to our ability to be able to continue to expand our vascular diagnostic services," she said. "We would use it to go toward the additional technology and equipment we'd need to provide those services."

She said stroke, peripheral coronary artery disease and abdominal aortic aneurysms are easily identified through ultrasound technology.

"This would allow us to screen and diagnose and catch those things earlier," Bair said. "These dollars would help us upgrade our CT scanner as well."

Bair said the hospital hopes to have the ultrasound and CT equipment as the hospital moves into a newly constructed facility. Construction is under way for a new $22 million facility just south of the Ill. 336 interchange, and is expected to be completed in spring 2009.

-- kwilson@whig.com/221-3391