42 Illinois community health centers set to receive $35.7 million to help modernize infrastructure

Forty-two community health centers in Illinois will receive $35.7 million in federal funds to help modernize their healthcare infrastructure and address disparities in underserved communities, the state’s two U.S. senators announced this week.

Funds from the American Rescue Plan will be used to address COVID-19-related capital needs, construct new facilities, renovate and expand existing facilities and purchase new equipment.

“These awards are the first major capital investment our sector has received in more than a decade from the federal government,” Ollie Idowu, CEO of the Illinois Primary Health Care Association, said in a statement.

The funds are part of nearly $1 billion from the federal plan to be allocated to approximately 1,300 centers across the country.

“Community health centers have been on the front lines every step of the COVID-19 pandemic – from setting up testing sites, addressing health disparities in medically underserved communities, and getting people vaccinated,” U.S. Sen Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said in a statement.

The full list of Illinois awardees is here.