Recovery Act: $3.2 million for Hawaii health centers

On Friday, March 27, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the release of $338 million to expand services offered at the nation’s community health centers, including $3,160,689 for 18 Hawaii locations.

The money was made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and comes as more Americans join the ranks of the uninsured. The Increased Demand for Services grants -- will be distributed to 1,128 federally qualified health center grantees.  Health centers will use the funds over the next two years to create or retain approximately 6,400 health center jobs.

Hawaii's 18 grants are intended to create or retain 71 health center jobs. Grantees submitted plans explaining how the IDS funds would be used.  Strategies to expand services may include, but are not limited to, adding new providers, expanding hours of operations or expanding services. 

The funds will provide care to an additional 2.1 million patients over the next two years, including approximately 1 million uninsured people. In Hawaii, there will be a projected 14,969 new patients and aproximately 4,600 uninsured people.

Health centers deliver preventive and primary care services to patients regardless of their ability to pay; charges for services are set according to income.  Health centers served more than 16 million patients in 2007, about 40 percent of whom had no health insurance.