Report Touts Benefits of Stimulus Community Health Center Spending
The $2 billion dollars from the 2009 federal economic stimulus package directed toward community health centers has spurred $3.2 billion in economic activity, helping the centers serve an additional three million patients by 2011, according to a George Washington University School of Public Health report released on Tuesday, The Hillâs "Blog Briefing Room" reports.
According to the report, $1.85 billion in stimulus funds have been distributed to community health centers so far. The report found that the additional funding has allowed community health centers to:
- Create and retain jobs;
- Expand and update facilities; and
- Bolster information technology systems.
The additional patients will increase the number of people served by community health centers to 21 million annually, about 40% of whom are uninsured, according to the report.
The report also emphasized the importance of community health centers during a recession because the centers typically serve indigent patients and low-income communities (Young, "Blog Briefing Room," The Hill, 2/16).
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