Local community health centers win American Rescue Plan funds

Illinois U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth have announced that 42 Community Health Centers in the state have been awarded $35.7 million in American Rescue Plan funding to modernize their health care infrastructure and enhance their work to address health disparities in underserved communities.

CHCs will use this funding for COVID-19-related capital needs, constructing new facilities, renovating and expanding existing facilities to enhance response to pandemics, and purchasing new state-of-the-art equipment, including telehealth technology, mobile medical vans, and freezers to store vaccines.

Locally, money has been awarded to:

Christopher Rural Health Planning Corp., in Christopher: $961,934.

Rural Health Inc. in Anna: $659,357.

Shawnee Health Service and Development Corp. in Carterville: $866,762.

Southern Illinois Health Care Foundation Inc. based in Sauget: $1,665,835

Southern Illinois University (Springfield): $907,737.