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U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), a member of the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee, today reported that an additional $6.72 million will be awarded to 20 community health care centers in Mississippi to expand their ability to test for COVID-19. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) funding can be used to support testing-related activities, including: purchasing personal protective equipment; training for staff, outreach, procurement and administration of tests; laboratory services; notifying identified contacts exposed to infected health center patients; and expanding walk-up or drive-up testing capabilities.
The funding was appropriated in the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, which included an additional $825 million specifically for community health centers and rural health clinics.
This table outlines the distribution of the $6.72 million headed to Mississippi. An associated HHS news release is provided below.
Expanding Capacity for Coronavirus Testing Awards
Mississippi Expanding Capacity for Coronavirus Testing Awards (link)
$6,724,130 to support 20 health centers
|
HEALTH CENTER GRANTEE |
CITY |
STATE |
FUNDING AMOUNT |
|
AARON E. HENRY COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES CENTER, INC. |
CLARKSDALE |
MS |
$308,029 |
|
ACCESS FAMILY HEALTH SERVICES, INC. |
SMITHVILLE |
MS |
$230,569 |
|
AMITE COUNTY MEDICAL SERVICES, INC. |
LIBERTY |
MS |
$157,459 |
|
CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI CIVIC IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION, INC. |
JACKSON |
MS |
$860,704 |
|
CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI HEALTH SERVICES, INC. |
JACKSON |
MS |
$191,824 |
|
CLAIBORNE COUNTY FAMILY HEALTH CENTER |
PORT GIBSON |
MS |
$148,579 |
|
COASTAL FAMILY HEALTH CENTER, INC. |
BILOXI |
MS |
$632,929 |
|
DELTA HEALTH CENTER, INC. |
MOUND BAYOU |
MS |
$291,289 |
|
DR. ARENIA C. MALLORY COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, INC. |
LEXINGTON |
MS |
$221,749 |
|
EAST CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI HEALTH CARE INC |
SEBASTOPOL |
MS |
$209,479 |
|
FAMILY HEALTH CARE CLINIC, INC. |
PEARL |
MS |
$845,629 |
|
FAMILY HEALTH CENTER, INC. |
LAUREL |
MS |
$294,259 |
|
G.A. CARMICHAEL FAMILY HEALTH CENTER, INC. |
CANTON |
MS |
$251,749 |
|
GREATER MERIDIAN HEALTH CLINIC, INC |
MERIDIAN |
MS |
$264,874 |
|
JEFFERSON COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CENTER INC |
FAYETTE |
MS |
$236,614 |
|
MANTACHIE RURAL HEALTH CARE INC |
MANTACHIE |
MS |
$158,254 |
|
NORTH MISSISSIPPI PRIMARY HEALTH CARE, INC. |
ASHLAND |
MS |
$321,544 |
|
NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI HEALTH CARE, INC. |
BYHALIA |
MS |
$277,234 |
|
OUTREACH HEALTH SERVICES INC |
SHUBUTA |
MS |
$198,424 |
|
SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI RURAL HEALTH INITIATIVE, INC. |
HATTIESBURG |
MS |
$622,939 |
Date Last Reviewed: May 2020
HHS Awards More than Half Billion Across the Nation to Expand COVID-19 Testing
Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), awarded nearly $583 million to 1,385 HRSA-funded health centers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and eight U.S. territories to expand COVID-19 testing. Nearly 88 percent of HRSA-funded health centers report testing patients, with more than 65 percent offering walk-up or drive-up testing. Health centers are currently providing more than 100,000 weekly COVID-19 tests in their local communities.
Today’s funding for health centers is part of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, signed into law by President Trump on April 24th. The legislation provides funding for small businesses and individuals financially affected by COVID-19, additional funding for hospitals and healthcare providers, and increased testing capabilities to help track the spread and impact of the coronavirus.
“This new funding secured by President Trump will expand the work health centers are doing to test Americans for COVID-19,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “Widespread testing is a critical step in reopening America, and health centers are vital to making testing easily accessible, especially for underserved and minority populations. Further, because health centers can help notify contacts of patients who test positive, they will continue playing an important role in cooperating with state and local public health departments.”
HRSA-funded health centers will use this funding to expand the range of testing and testing-related activities to best address the needs of their local communities, including the purchase of personal protective equipment; training for staff, outreach, procurement and administration of tests; laboratory services; notifying identified contacts of infected health center patients of their exposure to COVID-19; and the expansion of walk-up or drive-up testing capabilities.
“Health centers are a first line of defense, as they are testing for coronavirus and delivering high-quality primary care to our nation’s most vulnerable populations.” said HRSA Administrator Tom Engels. “In the fight against COVID-19, we must marshal all of our resources to keep Americans healthy and care for those who become ill.”
Today’s investments build upon the $1.42 billion HRSA has awarded to health centers to address COVID-19, which will bring the Trump Administration’s total COVID-19 investment in health centers to nearly $2 billion.
For a list of award recipients, visit https://bphc.hrsa.gov/emergency-response/expanding-capacity-coronavirus-testing-FY2020-awards.
To learn more about health center capacity and the impact of COVID-19 on health center operations, patients and staff, visit https://bphc.hrsa.gov/emergency-response/coronavirus-health-center-data.
For more information about COVID-19, visit http://coronavirus.gov/.
