Sanders Applauds Community Health Center Expansion

Press Release

Ten community health centers in Vermont were awarded $2.1 million to expand primary health care services, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced today. The funds will support 47 new full-time employees to care for 11,850 new patients across the state.

The awards were Vermont's share of $295.5 million in nationwide grants for 1,195 health centers. The federal funds were authorized by a Sanders provision in the Affordable Care Act that authorized $11 billion community health centers.

"As chairman of the Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, I am pleased that this funding will provide community health centers across Vermont and around the country with the resources to improve access to primary medical, dental, mental health, and vision care as well as improve access to low-cost prescription drugs for millions of Americans.

"Although I am very pleased to see today's announcement, the funding for community health centers expires next year, and we cannot wait until the last moment to act. Millions of people across the country do not have access to the primary care they need, and Congress must work together to maintain these important advances. We must make sure that the doors of our nation's community health centers stay open so people do not wind up sick and in costly emergency rooms," Sanders added.

This year, community health centers in Vermont will serve one in four Vermonters at more than 50 health center sites across the state. This funding will provide funds to hire new providers, expand services, and extend open hours.

Health centers across the country provide high-quality care to 22 million people. With these funds, the federal government projects that health centers will reach an estimated 1.5 million new patients nationwide, including over 137,000 oral health patients and more than 38,000 behavioral health patients.

Here is a list of the Vermont health centers and the grants announced today:

Battenkill Valley Health Center, Arlington, $187,000
Community Health Center of Burlington, $232,544
Community Health Centers of the Rutland Region, Bomoseen, $258,340
Copley Professional Services Group, Morrisville, $222,030
Five-Town Health Alliance, Bristol, $187,000
Gifford Health Care, Randolph, $187,000
Little Rivers Health Care, Bradford, $200,024
Northeast Washington County Community Health, Plainfield, $205,064
Richford Health Center, Richford, $213,424
Springfield Medical Care System, Springfield, $225,100

Source