Charles River Community Health (CRCH) is pleased to announce that it will receive a grant of $350,000 as part of a statewide $12.5 million in grant funding to the League of Community Health Centers for 35 Community Health Centers (CHCs) in Massachusetts. The funding was included in a supplemental budget signed by Governor Baker in February 2022, which included $5 million for CHCs. To address high demand and need demonstrated by CHCs, the Administration is also awarding an additional $7.5 million from a COVID-19 response reserve established in that supplemental budget.
“As Massachusetts continues to lead the nation in vaccination rates, we are continually investing in neighborhood-based organizations like community health centers who know how to reach the populations they serve,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “These organizations are a fundamental piece of Massachusetts’ health care system, and this funding will allow them to address the specific needs of the individuals they serve.”
Community Health Centers are using the funding to continue the work of reducing barriers to accessing vaccines and testing. CHCs will use the grant funds to support staffing of employees focused on COVID-19 testing and vaccinations along with supply cost, mobile testing sites and renovations of facilities to create dedicated vaccination and testing space. “This funding is especially helpful for CHCs because of its flexibility,” said CRCH CEO Liz Browne. “We’re able to use the funds to continue to support our COVID response and ramp up when there is a spike in cases or a demand for testing or vaccines, but we can also pivot to use the funds for staff to provide important preventive and chronic care deferred due to COVID. We’re very appreciative of the state’s effort to accommodate the needs of our CHCs in the continually changing COVID environment.”
“Vaccines, testing and treatment remain important tools to manage COVID, even as we lead the nation in vaccinations” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders. “This funding will continue our robust efforts to ensure residents have access to crucial COVID-19 tools and are able to receive them from local providers they know and trust.”
The funding will be administered by the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, a non-profit Primary Care Association that provides support and assistance to CHCs across the Commonwealth. The funds will be distributed to a total of 35 Community Health Centers, with award amounts based on the requests made by the CHCs, as well as a scoring system that prioritized CHCs in communities with the lowest vaccination rates.
