U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Thursday awards totaling $10 million to aid 129 organizations across the country that want to become community health centers.
The Health Center Planning Grants, made available by the Affordable Care Act, support organizations’ development as future health centers so that they can provide care for some of the nation’s most vulnerable populations and potentially create more high-quality jobs in the future for their communities.
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Health centers provide access to primary healthcare services at more than 8,100 service delivery sites around the country, regardless of a patient’s ability to pay; charges for services are set according to income.
“Supporting the development of new community health centers will help us meet the healthcare needs of millions while supporting local jobs and economic growth in communities nationwide,” said Sebelius in a statement.
Community health centers are an integral source of local employment and economic growth in many underserved and low-income communities. Since the beginning of 2009, health centers across the country have added more than 18,600 new full-time positions in many of the nation’s most economically distressed communities. In 2010, they employed more than 131,000 staff. The new funds, made available by HHS last week, will help create thousands more jobs nationwide.
These awards fund several community-based entities seeking to provide a more comprehensive range of primary healthcare services and/or expand their services to the larger community. These include seven organizations traditionally focused on Tribal/Urban Indian health, five targeting mental health services, four geared toward HIV/AIDS services, three focused on faith-based initiatives and one senior center.
“The Health Center Planning Grants help organizations plan to become health centers,” said Health Resources and Services Administration Administrator Mary K. Wakefield, PhD, RN, in a statement. “These awards demonstrate HRSA’s commitment to expanding access to quality preventive and primary health care in high need areas across the country.”