Vermont’s Congressional delegation (Senators Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and Congressman Peter Welch) announced Thursday, April 9, that the state’s 11 federally qualified health centers received a total of $8.7 million for COVID-19 relief. This federal funding was provided to community health centers as a result of the CARES Act, the federal stimulus enacted last month to provide economic support to individuals, organizations, and businesses harmed by the coronavirus pandemic.
These health centers provide critical primary, mental, and oral health care, as well as substance use disorder treatment and affordable prescription drugs to more than one in four Vermonters each year, according to the delegations press release. Yet these crucial health care providers have been devastated by COVID-19, as services have been suspended or moved to virtual settings to keep patients and providers safe. Without these funds, many of these health care facilities would have been forced to close their doors at a time when their communities need them most.
