High Country Community Health Receives $608,333 Federal Grant to Serve More Patients, Create Jobs

Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust Helps Nine NC Clinics Secure Federal Dollars

June 25, 2012. High Country Community Health will receive $608,333 in federal dollars to serve more patients and create local jobs, according to an announcement this week by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The grant is part of the federal effort to expand community health centers around the country. According to HHS, the grants were awarded to 219 health centers nationwide and will improve access to care for more than 1.25 million patients.

With help from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust in Winston-Salem, nine community health centers in North Carolina secured more than $5.1 million in funding from HHS. Health centers are able to renew the grant annually.

“When we realized that federal funding would be available in the near future to support vital community health centers, we wanted to figure out a way to bring some of those resources to North Carolina,” said Allen Smart, director of the Health Care Division at the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, a private foundation that works to improve health care for low-income individuals throughout North Carolina. “Our funding provided grantwriting and other technical assistance to help community health centers navigate the rigorous application process.”

In early 2010, the Trust made a $400,000 grant to the North Carolina Community Health Center Association to provide training and technical assistance over 18 months to the state’s community health centers as they worked to apply for the new federal dollars made available by the Affordable Care Act.

Health centers serve more than 20 million patients nationwide and employ more than 138,000 people, according to HHS. In North Carolina, there are currently 30 sponsoring organizations operating 150 clinic sites serving 450,000 people. The new funding allows sites to expand or open new locations.

“These clinics are often the only option for affordable care in financially needy communities, and we’re excited to see the federal government investing in critical health care needs in North Carolina and beyond,” said Smart. “The Trust is committed to finding new and innovative ways to improve the health of North Carolina’s neediest communities, and the HHS funding is a perfect example of an important federal program for which we could provide additional local support.”

The full list of community health centers in North Carolina that received funding is below. View the full list of federal grants here.