Tennessee health centers, local governments to receive $2 million for COVID-19 response

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NASHVILLE - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday it is awarding $2.02 million in coronavirus-related grants to 29 health centers across Tennessee.

According to an HHS news release, Chattanooga-based Erlanger Health System will receive $70,865 under the federal Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2020, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 6.

Hamilton County government, meanwhile, is slated to get $58,894.

Health center recipients in Tennessee may use awards to address screening and testing needs, acquire medical supplies and boost their telehealth capacity in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The legislation, which provides $8.3 billion in emergency funding for federal agencies to respond to the outbreak, includes $100 million through the Health Resources and Services Administration for HRSA-funded health centers across the U.S.

HHS said in its release that due to "the urgency of the situation, and the important role health centers play in their communities, HHS is making funding for health center recipients in Tennessee available immediately."

"HRSA-funded health centers have been and will be critical players in our national response to the COVID-19 pandemic," said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. "The new grants we're releasing today are a rapid injection of resources secured by President Trump from Congress in the supplemental funding bill, building on the strong investments HHS has made in health centers over the years."

Immediate efforts to contact Erlanger and Hamilton County spokespeople were unsuccessful.

HRSA Administrator Tom Engles said in a statement that HRSA-funded health centers "provide high-quality primary care services to 28 million people in the United States. That is 1 in 12 people nationwide."

They operate 13,000 service delivery sites that Engles called "lifelines to services and networks of resources in their communities every day, and especially during a crisis. HRSA-funded health centers will receive this funding as quickly as possible so they can maintain their ability to deliver quality primary health care services to their patients while responding to developing needs in their communities."

Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550. Follow him on Twitter @AndySher1.