Montana health centers to receive $9.1M for COVID

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded more than $9 million to Montana to support 14 of the state’s health centers through the coronavirus outbreak.

According to the health department, the centers may use the awards to help communities detect, prevent, diagnose and treat COVID-19 patients and maintain or increase health capacity and staffing levels to address the coronavirus-related public health emergency, according to a press release from the office of Montana Congressman Greg Gianforte.

Health centers that will receive a portion of the funds include the Flathead City-County Health Department, the Glacier Community Health Center in Cut Bank, Marias Healthcare Services in Shelby and the Lincoln County Community Health Center in Libby. Each of the 14 health centers will receive at least $500,000, with the Yellowstone City-County health Department receiving the most at about $830,000, according to the press release.

Montana’s $9.1 million was a portion of the more than $1.3 billion that will be distributed to more than 1,400 health-care centers nationwide.

The awards are offered through the bipartisan CARES Act, or the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act. The law was created to address the economic fallout of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in the United States and was introduced by U.S. Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell.