Funding for President Biden’s American Recovery Plan will help improve the care of more than 30 million people served by community health centers.
Today, during National Health Center Week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), awarded nearly $90 million in funding for the Saving America Plan. of nearly 1,400 public health centers across the country promoting health equity through better data collection and reporting. On Friday, August 5, President Biden issued a statement on National Health Center Week to recognize the important role that health centers play in keeping America healthy and to honor the brave workers who keep these facilities running.
The Biden-Harris administration is committed to ensuring equitable disaster response and recovery, and these awards will help strengthen efforts to eliminate inequities in COVID-19 care and outcomes among There are communities of color and other underserved people. The nearly $90 million in funding announced today also builds on $7.6 billion in President Biden’s Saving America plan to strengthen medical center staff, renovate facilities, and equip critical medical supplies. of COVID-19 in the past year.
“We have prioritized promoting equity in our response to COVID-19 and in all of our work,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Community health centers have played a critical role in the nation’s response to COVID-19, and currently serve more than 30 million people across the country. Today’s investment will help ensure that all patients are treated equally. get the high-quality health care they deserve.”
Funding supports data modernization efforts aimed at better identifying and responding to the unique needs of patients and communities through improved data quality; developing COVID-19 response, mitigation, and recovery efforts; and helping to prepare for future public health emergencies.
The HRSA initiative is designed to enable health facilities to obtain better information about both patient health status and social determinants of health. With good information, programs can focus their efforts to improve health outcomes and promote health equity by accurately targeting the needs of specific communities or patients, especially as part of a public health emergency response.
“Time and time again, the COVID crisis has highlighted the critical role of trusted community leaders in providing health care services,” said HRSA CEO Carole Johnson. “Health centers are the trusted resource for the most vulnerable and most vulnerable communities in the country. Help them continue to serve their communities well.”
The nearly 1,400 HRSA-funded community health centers in this country serve as a national source of primary care for underserved communities. They are community-based and patient-centered organizations that provide affordable, accessible, and high-quality medical, dental, and behavioral health services to more than 30 million patients each year, with special efforts aimed at reaching people experiencing homelessness, farm workers, and residents of public housing.
By 2021, HRSA-funded health centers provided care to one in five rural residents and one in eleven nationwide. One-third of the clinic’s patients live in poverty, and nearly two-thirds are minorities.
See an interactive map of today’s awards, including a state-by-state breakdown: https://bphc.hrsa.gov/funding/funding-opportunities/arp-uds-supplemental-funding/awards
Learn more about the Health Center Program: https://bphc.hrsa.gov/about-health-centers/health-center-program-impact-growth
Watch the Heart Health Center video: https://youtu.be/M0PmHDcsaRQ
Find a health center: https://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/
