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NORWICH — Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) recently announced the award of federal grants totaling more than $800,000 to two eastern Connecticut health centers that serve patients throughout New London and Windham counties. The grants were awarded to United Community Health Center, Inc. in Norwich and to Generations Family Health Center, Inc. in Willimantic, and both were issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Generations Family Health Center will receive a grant award of $409,684, and United Community Health Center will receive $398,299 in federal funding through the HHS Health Center Program continuation award. The new federal funding was authorized as part of the bipartisan CARES Act, and will be used specifically to expand the range of COVID-19 testing and testing activities in eastern Connecticut.
The new funding can be used to support the purchase of personal protective equipment, training, outreach, procurement and administration of tests, laboratory services, the expansion of walk-up or drive-up testing capabilities, and more.
“This funding for testing goes to the heart of eastern Connecticut’s ability to safely reopen activities of daily living,” said Courtney. “Testing provides the visibility of the virus’s presence that we need to isolate and eliminate its spread. UCFS and Generations are high-quality health providers, embedded in the region that can do the work this funding is intended to support. These grants are not the end, but rather the first steps in a testing and tracing program that the country needs. Negotiations are underway now for the fourth major COVID-19 aid package, the ‘CARES Act Two’, and it’s imperative that Congress works together to get more support where it’s most needed.”
Courtney announced the first three rounds of COVID-19 response funding awarded to Generations Family Health Center, Inc. and United Community Health Center, Inc. on March 26, April 7, and April 17. The initial grant funding was awarded through HHS programs that were authorized by the bipartisan CARES Act, which Rep. Courtney voted to pass on March 27, and through the House’s first bipartisan supplemental funding package to curb the spread of COVID-19 (H.R. 6074), which Rep. Courtney voted to pass on March 4.
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