Virginia Community Health Centers Close Over Funding Access
“Half of Virginia’s community health centers have been cut off from federal grant money, forcing some to stop providing certain services and others to close branches,” Adrienne Hoar McGibbon reported on February 4 for Virginia Public Media (VPM).
The closure of the community health centers followed an order by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on January 27 to freeze grants and loans.
As of January 28, 16 of the state’s 31 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHS) have been unable to access federal funding that allows them to pay employees, Virginia Community Healthcare Association (VCHA) spokesperson Joe Stevens told VPM News. Stevens indicated that it is unclear why some health centers have lost access to funding while others have been unaffected.
McGibbon wrote that VCHA is urging people to reach out to their elected officials and request a bipartisan effort to resolve the funding issue.
