U.S. Rep. Ron Kind announced Sept. 28 that over $580,000 in American Rescue Plan funding is being awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to Scenic Bluffs Health Center.
These funds will boost primary healthcare infrastructure in rural and medically underserved communities as local providers continue to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Our outstanding health centers have been on the frontlines of combating Covid-19 and played a critical role in our community response to this pandemic,” Kind said. “This funding will go a long way toward helping health centers like Scenic Bluffs modernize their facilities to better meet the needs of their patients as well as expand access to care for Covid-19 testing, treatment, and vaccination. I’m glad to see the American Rescue Plan continuing to deliver for Wisconsin.”
Mari Frieberg, Scenic Bluffs’ chief executive officer, said, “We are very grateful for this direct federal investment in our work and services through the American Rescue Plan. This funding will be used to enhance and build out our Norwalk facility, improving utilization and services in that location.”
Nearly 1,300 health centers across the country were awarded a total of $1 billion in American Rescue Plan funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Recipients can use the funding for Covid-19 related capital needs; constructing new facilities and renovating and expanding existing facilities to enhance response to pandemics; and purchasing new equipment, including telehealth technology, mobile medical vans, and freezers to store vaccines.
Kind is the co-chair of the House Rural Health Care Coalition and serves on the Subcommittee on Health for the Ways and Means Committee, the most powerful — and the oldest — committee in the House of Representatives. It has jurisdiction over tax measures, the management of public debt, trade and tariff laws, Social Security, Medicare, pensions, and many other economic growth measures.
