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Health Centers Tech Assistance

Community Health Centers (CHCs) play a vital role in providing quality health care to the most vulnerable citizens of Mississippi. The 22 CHCs in Mississippi provide cost-effective, comprehensive medical, dental and other health care in over 154 clinics located in both urban and rural areas of the state, including more than 100 primary care delivery sites.

With the rising numbers of uninsured patients and increasing levels of poverty, demand for health center services has never been higher. While additional federal operating funds can assist CHCs to support increased levels of care to the uninsured, capital resources are in short supply for many centers. The Bower Foundation has provided funding over a period of four years in two phases to 15* of the 22 CHCs to develop capacity and programs to respond to challenges and capitalize on opportunities. During Phase One, the following services and activities were accomplished:

Economic Impact Analysis
Capital Needs Survey/Financial Trend Analysis
Grant-Writing Assistance
Technical Assistance Needs Survey

Additional technical assistance and financial analyses were provided in Phase Two as indicated below:

Update of Capital Needs Survey/Financial Trend Analysis
Identification of Physical Needs/Architecture Design Assistance
Financial Technical Assistance
Grant-Writing Assistance

As a result of the technical assistance and training provided by this project, the CHCs are better positioned to:

Increase the number of uninsured and under-insured Mississippians receiving primary health care
Identify the economic issues impacting their operations
Assess their financial needs and capacity for debt
Identify their specific facilities needs
Improve their financial operations
Apply for and receive adequate funding to renovate or expand their facilities in order to increase their services

*The remaining seven CHCs in the MS Delta received technical assistance through another grant from a local community development organization.