The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently announced awards of $28.8 million to support 67 community health centers across the country through the New Access Points grants program. A new access point is a "full time service delivery site for the provision of comprehensive primary and preventative health care services that will improve the health status and decrease health disparities of medically underserved and vulnerable populations.” By intent, community health centers are located in lower income, medically underserved communities that are mostly in rural and inner-city neighborhoods. Community health centers are often the sole source of care for many of the most underserved and vulnerable populations. As community based organizations were able to apply directly for this funding opportunity, this grant provided a significant opportunity to improve access to quality health services. In addition, the construction and operation of community health centers also plays a significant role in local job creation. For example, in 2009, with the $2 billion investment received through ARRA, community health centers were able to generate an additional $3.2 billion in economic activity for their local communities. For these reasons, many community partnerships that are engaged in improving outcomes for children and families are finding their local community health centers to be critical stakeholders and partners.
The list of Community Health Center receiving New Access Point grants can be found here. To find a health center in your area, visit http://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov.
For more information:
Opportunities for Communities in the Affordable Care Act (CSSP) provides a summary of the existing and upcoming funding provisions from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that can have an impact on local community change efforts.
A fact sheet about community health centers from HRSA
National Association of Community Health Centers
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