Butterfield Announces Almost $13 Million to Community Health Centers in North Carolina to Expand COVID-19 Testing

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Butterfield announced almost $13 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will be awarded to 39 HRSA-funded health centers in North Carolina, including almost $3.4 million being awarded to the nine community health centers that serve the First Congressional District of North Carolina.

“As North Carolinians and communities nationwide face this unprecedented health and economic crisis, it is imperative that we prioritize people’s health and safety,” said Congressman Butterfield. “A prosperous economy starts with a healthy community. For our communities to be healthy, COVID-19 testing must be available to anyone who needs it and right now far too many Americans are in desperate need of increased access to COVID-19 testing. Community health centers are our frontline defense amid this pandemic and are positioned to reach people where they are within the community. I am glad to see they will now receive much needed funding to support the heroic work they do every day in the First Congressional District of North Carolina.”

Background:

HRSA-funded health centers will use this funding to expand the range of testing and testing-related activities to best address the needs of their local communities, including the purchase of personal protective equipment; training for staff, outreach, procurement and administration of tests; laboratory services; notifying identified contacts of infected health center patients of their exposure to COVID-19; and the expansion of walk-up or drive-up testing capabilities.

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 The following community health centers in the First Congressional District received awards:

For a full list of award recipients, visit https://bphc.hrsa.gov/emergency-response/expanding-capacity-coronavirus-testing-FY2020-awards