Merkley, Wyden Announce Grants for Oregon Health Centers

Washington, DC- Today, Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that the Department of Health and Human Services has awarded nearly $10 million to ten health centers across Oregon to expand access to quality health care. Funding for these awards come from the health reform law passed in 2010 and will ensure residents have access to essential medical services while creating jobs.   

“Access to timely, affordable preventive and routine medical care is key to keeping our families healthy and getting our health care costs under control,” Merkley said.  “These investments in health care centers in Oregon will get more people in front of health care providers to ensure they are not facing major, costly problems in the future.  Affordable, accessible health care should be a right for all Oregonians.  Giving our health care centers the tools they need to serve more Oregon families is a step in the right direction.”

“For many Oregonians, especially in rural areas, community health centers are an important life line for access to quality healthcare,” Wyden said. “These grants are an investment in not just community health centers but the overall health of our communities. Increasing access to affordable, quality healthcare is one of the most important things that we can do for our residents and I am happy to see these grant awards are moving us toward that goal.”

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act included $9.5 billion to expand services over five years and $1.5 billion to support major construction and renovation projects at community health centers nationwide for 2012 through 2014. The funds announced today are in a series of awards that will be made available to health centers under the Affordable Care Act. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) oversees the program. A list of today’s awardees is below:

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