Primary Healthcare Centers and 30 other health organizations across the state of Georgia are very disappointed with the Heath Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) announcement of grant awards for Federally Qualified Health Centers.  No applicants from Georgia were awarded funding for New Access Points.  These non-profit community health centers provide primary medical, dental and mental health services to underserved areas with a special emphasis on low-income and uninsured individuals. 

 Primary Healthcare Centers has been working closely with a variety of organizations and individuals in Chattooga County for over 3 years to develop a satellite community health center in Summerville, and has been anxiously awaiting word from HRSA about this round of funding for over a year.

Of the 350 or more New Access Point grants expected to be awarded, only 67 were approved for HRSA funding because  $600 million was cut from the federal budget. That money was set aside for Community Health Centers . Twenty of the 67 grants funded were awarded to organizations in California.  New York received the next largest number of awards with 8.  Georgia was awarded none.  In fact, in the entire southeast, only  7 of 151 grant applications submitted were funded.  To see the HRSA official announcement and find out which grants were approved and funded, log on to:  http://www.hrsa.gov/about/news/2011tables/110809newaccesspoints.html.

 Diana Allen, CEO of Primary Healthcare Centers, who has been leading the collaboration to bring affordable health care to low-income and uninsured individuals in Chattooga County was surprised and saddened by the announcement.  ”Primary Healthcare Centers and the wonderful people in Chattooga County have worked so hard over the past 3 years to establish a satellite community health center in the county.  This is extremely upsetting to everyone.  We understood there would be some priority given to those proposing to serve special populations—migrant workers, homeless individuals and other special populations—but generally the grant awards are more evenly distributed across geographic areas.”

Ms. Allen explained that Primary Healthcare Centers will be informed by the end of September whether or not its New Access Point application for Chattooga County  may be in a group whose application was approved but not funded.  “ If it was approved, then there is some hope that it will be in line to be funded in 2012, depending on future federal budget cuts and if there is any money available at the federal level for HRSA to fund any New Access Points.  I am encouraging everyone to contact their U.S. Senators and Representatives to express concerns about these issues.”

To obtain more information about Primary Healthcare Centers, go to our website at www.primaryhealthcarecenter.org..