(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) announced that $26,507,595 has been made available for health centers in Washington state. These funds, included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP), will go toward updating and renovating health centers across the state.
“So many families across Washington state depend on community health centers for their care, and renovating and modernizing them will not only help patients, it will also create jobs and boost the local economy,” said Senator Patty Murray. “Investing in construction and new technology for our state’s health centers is not only good health care policy, it is also good economic policy.”
“Washington’s Community Health Centers serve as the health care home for over 600,000 low-income residents of the state,” said Mary Looker, CEO of the Washington Association of Community and Migrant Health Centers. “We are very appreciative of this infusion of $26 million from the federal stimulus package toward capital improvements in 25 of our health centers. This funding will provide welcome, although limited, relief as our health centers are challenged to maintain services in the face of dramatic increases in the uninsured and $240 million of state budget cuts to the health center system.”
"As one of the region’s recipients of a Recovery Act Capital Improvement Program award, Public Health – Seattle & King County is looking forward to the improvements that these funds will make in our system of care for homeless and other low-income people who rely on the health care safety net," said Dorothy Teeter, Chief of Health Operations for Public Health – Seattle & King County.
The Recovery Act Capital Improvement Program grants will support the construction, repair and renovation of over 1,500 health center sites nationwide. More than 650 centers will use the funds to purchase new equipment or health information technology (HIT) systems, and nearly 400 health centers will adopt and expand the use of electronic health records.
As a senior member of the Senate committees that fund and oversee health care policy, Murray worked to ensure that investments in Washington’s health and child care programs were a key component of the Recovery Act. Senator Murray voted to pass the Recovery Act on February 13th. The bill was signed into law by President Obama on February 17th.
Total Washington state funding: $26,507,595
Breakdown of funding:
- Bellingham – INTERFAITH COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER – $645,395
- Bremerton – PENINSULA COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES – $861,275
- Chehalis – LEWIS COUNTY COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES, INC. – $504,765
- Chewelah – N.E.W. HEALTH PROGRAMS – $686,590
- Everett – COMMUNITY HLTH CTR OF SNOHOMISH COUNTY – $1,355,125
- Inchelium – COLVILLE CONFEDERATED TRIBES – $338,585
- Longview – COWLITZ FAMILY HEALTH CENTER – $878,390
- Moses Lake – MOSES LAKE COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER – $1,040,230
- Okanogan – FAMILY HEALTH CENTERS – $678,820
- Othello – COLUMBIA BASIN HEALTH ASSOCIATION – $1,178,655
- Pasco – LA CLINICA/SOUTH COLUMBIA RURAL HEALTH – $1,099,800
- Renton – HEALTHPOINT – $2,065,065
- Seattle – COUNTRY DOCTOR COMMUNITY CLINIC – $771,290
- Seattle – INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES – $811,120
- Seattle – PUGET SOUND NEIGHBORHOOD HEALTH CENTERS – $1,847,190
- Seattle – SEA-MAR COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER – $2,500,000
- Seattle – SEATTLE INDIAN HEALTH BOARD INC – $461,890
- Seattle – SEATTLE-KING COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH DEPT – $1,025,635
- Spokane – COMMUNITY HEALTH ASSOCIATION OF SPOKANE – $1,203,715
- Tacoma – COMMUNITY HEALTH CARE – $1,525,750
- Tacoma – METROPOLITAN DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL – $337,885
- Toppenish – YAKIMA VALLEY FARMWORKERS CLINIC – $2,500,000
- Wenatchee – COLUMBIA VALLEY COMMUNITY HEALTH – $1,003,515
- Yakima – COMMUNITY HEALTH OF CENTRAL WASHINGTON – $337,185
- Yakima – YAKIMA NEIGHBORHOOD HEALTH SERVICES – $849,725
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