Senator Roy Blunt, the co-chair of the Senate Community Health Center Caucus, announced that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded more than $27 million in coronavirus response grant funding to 29 Missouri community health centers (CHCs). The funding will help CHCs meet staffing needs, and prevent, diagnose, and treat coronavirus patients.
“Community health centers are often the first place people go to get health care treatment quickly and close to home,” said Blunt. “Right now, clinics in Missouri are testing for coronavirus, providing telehealth services, and treating patients who are fighting this disease. One of my priorities in the most recent coronavirus response bill was extending funding for CHCs so they can continue providing care in local communities, especially our urban and rural underserved areas. I appreciate the tireless work our health care professionals are doing every day on the frontlines of this pandemic.”
Missouri CHCs serve 530,000 patients, 75% of whom are below the poverty level. Nationwide, CHCs serve more than 29 million patients, including 385,000 veterans and 8.7 million children.
In the recently-enacted CARES Act, Blunt and U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow worked together to secure a funding extension for CHCs through November 30. The bill also included an additional $1.3 billion in emergency funding for CHCs. Blunt and Stabenow previously introduced legislation, the Community Health Investment, Modernization, and Excellence (CHIME) Act, to reauthorize the Community Health Center Fund (CHCF) and the National Health Service Corps for five years.
Missouri CHCs previously received $2.1 million from the first coronavirus response bill, bringing the total to nearly $30 million with the latest round of funding.
You may click here for a list of the grant recipients or see the embedded PDF file below.
[pdf-embedder url=”http://www.kttn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Coronavirus-Response-Grant-Recipients.pdf” title=”Coronavirus Response Grant Recipients”]
