The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced $11.3 million in grants to 25 local community health centers to expand access to health care for medically underserved Americans.

The Health Resources and Services Administration's New Start/Expansion grants will help grantees in 17 states expand health care access for some 200,000 individuals by creating new health care sites in urban and rural medically underserved areas. Two more funding cycles will take place in fiscal year 2001; additional grantees are expected to be announced in June and August.

"Community health centers are the core of the health care safety net for underserved and uninsured Americans," said HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. "Increasing the number of health center sites is a critical part of President Bush's pledge to strengthen the health care safety net in the United States."

Community health centers serve all people regardless of their ability to pay and target their services in areas where people face barriers to accessing high-quality, culturally competent care. Through extensive partnerships with local providers, hospitals and managed care organizations, health centers build local systems of care that increase residents' access to health services.

"The health centers receiving these grants serve communities that badly need more primary care services and that have many residents without health insurance," said Marilyn Hughes Gaston, M.D., M.P.H., HRSA associate administrator for Primary Health Care. "This year's grants will add about 100 new health care sites capable of serving 1 million needy Americans."

Grant amounts vary in size, based on the scope of the project and the size of the service area.

For more information on the Community Health Center Program, go to the program Web site atwww.bphc.hrsa.gov/chc/ or call 301-594-4300. Grantee list is available at:www.hrsa.gov/newsroom/releases/2001%20Releases/chc.htm