Hundreds of community health centers (CHCs) will receive more than $36 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the agency announced Tuesday. The grants reward quality of care or the use of electronic health records.
In total, 1,113 CHCs in the United States will receive grants using money set aside in the Affordable Care Act.
“This funding rewards health centers that have a proven track record in clinical quality improvement, which translates to better patient care, and it allows them to expand and improve their systems and infrastructure to bring the highest quality primary care services to the communities they serve,” said HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell in a statement.
Rewards were doled out in four categories, depending on the strengths shown by each health center.
Health Center Quality Leaders awards recognized centers that were in the top 30 percent for overall clinical results. HHS awarded $11.2 million in total among 316 health centers, with Sunset Park Health Clinic in Brooklyn, New York scoring the highest award of nearly $80,000.
[See also: Dartmouth-Hitchcock's zero-readmission strategy: Focus on value.]
Meanwhile, HHS named 57 health centers National Quality Leaders for topping national benchmarks for chronic disease management, preventive care, and perinatal/prenatal care. Nearly $2.5 million was awarded in total, with Northeast Valley Health Corp. in San Fernando, California receiving the highest award of $133,000.
The agency also dubbed 1,058 health centers as Clinical Quality Improvers for showing at least 10 percent improvement in clinical quality, issuing a total of $17.7 million in grants.
And lastly, HHS awarded a total $4.9 million across 332 health centers for using electronic health records to measure patient data. Each center received the same amount: $15,000.
California health centers earned the most awards, totaling $5.1 million, while New York received the second most with $2.8 million.
The HHS Health Resources and Services Administration has published the entire database of awarded health centers on its website. Click here to search the list.