A local health department is receiving over half a million dollars through a federal program.
U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworkth and Dick Durbin announced Monday that the Cass County Health Department would receive $553,361 through American Rescue Plan funding to modernize their health care infrastructure and enhance their work to address health disparities in under-served communities. The health department receives money as a part of a larger traunch of ARP money because it is designated as a federally-recognized Community Health Center.
CHCs will be allowed to use the funding for COVID-19-related capital needs, constructing new facilities, renovating and expanding existing facilities to enhance response to pandemics, and purchasing new state-of-the-art equipment, including telehealth technology, mobile medical vans, and freezers to store vaccines.
This funding is part of nearly $1 billion from the American Rescue Plan to approximately 1,300 Health Resources and Services Administration Health Center Program-funded health centers in each state.