$1.7 Million From Feds Given To Arizona To Fight Coronavirus

Nearly two dozen Arizona health centers will split $1.7 million from the federal government to help combat the spread of coronavirus in the state.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funding comes from the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act.

The $1,771,070 will span 23 health centers across 15 cities. Centers such as Terros or Valle Del Sol in Phoenix are set to receive around $52,000. Others such as the El Rio Santa Cruz Neighborhood Health Center in Tucson and Adelante Healthcare in Phoenix are being awarded more than $100,000.

“Health center recipients in Arizona may use these awards to address screening and testing needs, acquire medical supplies and boost their telehealth capacity in response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic,” the press release read.

Arizona’s death toll from the coronavirus outbreak is up to five, and the number of reported cases in the state increased to 326 on Tuesday morning.

Gov. Doug Ducey said the state could see an increase in the virus before things take a turn for the better, calling the battle against the infectious disease a marathon, not a sprint.

“HRSA-funded health centers have been and will be critical players in our national response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in the release.

President Donald Trump “has emphasized a whole-of-government, whole-of-America response to the pandemic, and these grants will help health centers, which know the needs and resources of their communities best, to play their part,” Azar said.

On March 6, Trump signed the act into law, allocating $8.3 billion in emergency funding for federal agencies to fight against COVID-19.

HRSA-funded health centers provide high-quality primary care services to 28 million people in the United States. That is one in 12 people nationwide. These grantees operate 13,000 service delivery sites that are lifelines to services and networks of resources in their communities every day, and especially during a crisis,” HRSA Administrator Tom Engels said in a press release.

Click here to see how much each of the 23 health centers will be given.