The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), has awarded almost $90 million to nearly 1,400 community health centers across the county to improve their data collection and reporting efforts.
The $90 million comes from American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding, building on the $7.6 billion ARP funding invested over the past year to strengthen the health center workforce, renovate facilities, and equip them with essential COVID-19 medical supplies.
“We have prioritized advancing equity in our COVID-19 response and throughout all of our work,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a press release. “Community health centers have played a pivotal role in the nation’s COVID-19 response, and now serve more than 30 million people across the country. Today’s investments will help ensure that all patients have equitable access to the high-quality health care they deserve.”
HHS said the data modernization project will allow for “improved data quality” to better identify and respond to the needs of patients and local communities. With the new funding, health centers will have access to “better data on both patient health status and social determinants of health,” advancing health equity.
Additionally, the improved data quality will help to advance COVID-19 response, mitigation, and recovery efforts – as well as prepare for future public health emergencies.
“Time and again, the COVID pandemic has demonstrated the vital role of trusted community leaders in delivering health care services,” said HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson. “Health centers are that trusted resource in the highest risk and hardest hit communities in the country. As we recognize the heroic work of the frontline health care workers who make health centers what they are, today we also are investing in the tools they need to help them continue to best serve their communities.”
An interactive map of the nearly 1,400 HRSA-funded community health centers is available here, including a state-by-state breakdown of the award recipients.
