Gallego Announces Nearly $600K for Phoenix Community Health Centers to Advance Health Equity through Improved Data
PHOENIX, AZ – Rep. Ruben Gallego (AZ-07) today announced $588,904 in American Rescue Plan funding from the Department of Health and Human Services for nine Phoenix community health centers to bolster health equity efforts through better data collection and reporting.
"Tragically, the coronavirus pandemic amplified the inequities in our health system that have existed for decades,” said Rep. Gallego. “But now we have a real opportunity to reflect on how to improve access and care to our most marginalized communities, and these funds give providers the tools and resources to make these improvements.”
The American Rescue Plan funds will be directed to nine community health centers in Congressional District Seven. These health centers are:
- Adelante Healthcare, Inc. ($65,500)
- Circle the City ($65,500)
- Maricopa County Special Health Care District ($65,500)
- Mountain Park Health Center ($64,904)
- Native Health ($65,500)
- Neighborhood Outreach Access to Health ($65,500)
- Terros, Inc. ($65,500)
- Valle del Sol, Inc. ($65,500)
- Wesley Community Center, Inc. ($65,500)
“Valleywise Health provides a wide range of essential health care services to our communities through a network of community health centers across Maricopa County. These dollars will strengthen our care services for physical and mental health for all residents, and especially marginalized communities, and I want to thank Congressman Gallego for his support of Valleywise Health and the patients we serve,” said Steve Purves, President and CEO of Valleywise Health.
“Throughout the pandemic, quality data was key in ensuring we were reaching our populations – many who were the hardest hit nationwide. We are proud to have administered more than 100,000 COVID-19 vaccines to our communities, and thankful for these funds as they will help us with a smooth transfer of data,” said Mountain Park Health Center.
"Circle the City remained on the frontlines during the pandemic, working to ensure people experiencing homelessness had full access to high-quality healthcare. Our teams were able to get testing and the vaccine to thousands of people living on the streets, in shelters, and in our healthcare centers, thus successfully helping mitigate the spread of COVID-19 among our unhoused population. Today, this funding will help us continue to seek innovative ways to reduce barriers to healthcare for the underserved and meet the increasing demand for our services, while supporting our mission to improve health outcomes and advance health equity for all,” said Circle the City Chief Executive Officer Kim Despres.
“Throughout the public health emergency many individuals have suffered with acute physical and mental health challenges, and many have neglected the management of chronic health conditions. Terros Health is so grateful to Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), for this award of $65,500 in American Rescue Plan funding. With this award, we will offer wireless-enabled Self-Measured Blood Pressure devices to the majority of our patients with hypertension and use the transmitted data to inform treatment including health coaching to bring blood pressure under control, significantly improving their long-term health,” said Terros Health President and Chief Executive Officer, Karen Hoffman Tepper.
“Every patient deserves the greatest possible level of care. The difference for a community health center is our focus on the social determinants of health and the impact these have on the individual. These funds will help us further connect the dots in care and positively improve their health in a very significant way for years to come. We are so grateful for the support in these efforts and the recognition of the value of community health centers in improving the overall health of our communities,” said Bill Rosenfeld, Chief Operations Officer of Adelante Healthcare.
These dollars are part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to ensuring an equitable pandemic response and recovery. The funds are allocated to enable the nine health centers to have better data on patient health status and social determinants of health. This allows providers to tailor efforts to improve outcomes and advance health equity in a way that meets the needs of specific communities and patients.
Learn more about the Health Center Program: https://bphc.hrsa.gov/about-health-centers/health-center-program-impact-growth
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Rep. Ruben Gallego is a Marine Corps combat veteran who served in Iraq. He serves on the House Armed Services Committee, the House Natural Resources Committee, and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.