Subscribe to RSSRep. Kirkpatrick Announces More Than $1.4 Million in Funds to Expand Clinics, Improve Northern Arizona Health Care
WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick announced today that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be making $1,437,515 available to North Country HealthCare to help improve access to quality care in Greater Arizona. The funds are part of $851 million in grants that HHS will release to address facility and equipment needs at health care centers nationwide through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The announcement comes as the Congresswoman finishes her “Standing Up for Rural Arizona” tour, which included a stop at the opening of a new North Country clinic in Show Low. That facility was established with $1.3 million in Recovery Act funds. North Country will use this new grant to expand their clinics in Winslow and Kingman and to improve information technology and electronic health records infrastructure at their eleven sites across northern
Arizona.
“Rural Arizonans are being underserved by our current health care system, and this sort of investment allows us to benefit from 21st-century technology while reducing our costs,” said Rep. Kirkpatrick. “The staff at North Country does a great job with the resources they have. This grant will enable them to help even more folks in our communities access the services and treatment they need.”
The grants are being allocated through the Capital Improvement Program, which will support the construction, repair and renovation of over 1,500 health center sites across the country. Arizona health centers are benefitting from more than $16 million in funding for health technology improvements, with over $4 million granted to community health clinics in the First District.
“North Country HealthCare is busier than ever, and we are seeing more people show up who have lost their insurance,” said Ann Roggenbuck, North Country HealthCare president. “If they have a medical home, they are more likely to get the health care services they need and take care of medical problems before they get out of hand.”
This is the third round of health center grants provided through the Recovery Act. On March 2, HHS announced that $155 million would be available to establish 126 new health center sites, including the new Show Low clinic. Later that month, HHS released $338 million in Increased Demand for Service grants to help health centers provide care for additional patients. This included $449,304 for North Country, which provided 113,000 patient visits for medical, dental, and behavioral health care last year.
