West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrissey announced a $4.2 million investment to improve healthcare transportation across the state on Friday.

The funding will support the Emergency Medical Service Collaboratives and Public Transportation Collaboratives in an effort to help patients connect to the right care, at the right place, at the right time.

The funding will help multi-county EMS departments and regional transportation networks work together to connect patients during a non-emergency to primary care clinics, urgent care centers, behavioral health providers or other Federally Qualified Health Centers.

Funding must be used to support transformation and system improvements rather than routine operational costs.

In the announcement Governor Morrissey said, “Too many West Virginians have difficulty getting the healthcare they need simply because of where they live or because they don’t have reliable transportation.”