Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center (RCCHC) today announced an infusion of $50,000 in emergency grant funding from the medical aid organization Direct Relief, in partnership with the National Association of Community Health Centers.
RCCHC is among 518 federally qualified health centers to receive funding this week through Direct Relief’s $25 million Covid-19 Fund for Community Health, which recognizes the profound effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the finances, services, staff, and patients of community health centers.
“Direct Relief has been a constant support for our health center, especially with hurricane emergencies, and now during this new public health emergency, and we are deeply grateful.”
said Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center CEO, Kim Schwartz.
RCCHC will use the funds to improve care provided during “Hot Spot” visits. In order to decreases the risk of contracting COVID-19 from a visit to the interior of a health care center, RCCHC patients have been encouraged to take advantage of telemedicine services. However, like most of rural America, access to broadband coverage in RCCHC’s service area is spotty at best, and many of the most vulnerable patients don’t have the capacity for a virtual visit. Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center’s solution is a Wi-Fi hot spot in each clinic parking lot, where identified patients are able to remain in their vehicle and complete a telemedicine visit with their provider via a smart device and internet connection provided by the health center.
With the funds from Direct Relief, RCCHC will purchase IPads, Otter Boxes to protect them, equipment to strengthen the internet signal to clinic parking lots, and software to improve patients’ privacy and security during each visit.
“Access to primary care is what keeps people healthy and out of the hospital, and the frontline work of Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center and other nonprofit community health centers across the U.S. is more critical than ever with the onset of Covid-19,” said Direct Relief President and CEO Thomas Tighe. “Direct Relief is doing everything possible to bolster the work and support the staffs at the safety-net health facilities on which so many patients and their families rely for excellent care and trust for advice in this public health emergency.”
Nearly 30 million (1 in 12) of the country’s most vulnerable residents -- including 1 in 3 individuals living in poverty, 1 in 5 Medicaid beneficiaries, and 1 in 9 children -- rely on federally qualified health centers like RCCHC for their health care. That number is expected to rise as more people lose employer-sponsored insurance.
“We are grateful for this critical and immediate support as Community Health Centers work hard to keep communities safe during an unprecedented pandemic,” said Tom Van Coverden, President & CEO of the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC). “We are also deeply appreciative of our longstanding partnership with Direct Relief in these uncertain times and their efforts to ensure that health centers confronting multiple challenges in underserved communities have the resources when and where they need them. We know that many donors and contributors have helped to make this fund possible, and we further extend our appreciation to all of them.”
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About Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center: RCCHC, an FQHC since May 2005, provides comprehensive primary care and pediatric services with locations in Ahoskie and Murfreesboro (Hertford County), Colerain (Bertie County), Creswell (Washington County) and Woodland (Northampton County) North Carolina. As a designated Migrant and Community Health Center, RCCHC’s mission is to provide comprehensive care that reduces health disparities for the Roanoke Chowan area. Additionally, RCCHC staffs the Hertford County Student Wellness Center which operates during the school year and allows students to seek behavioral health services without having to leave campus, reducing absenteeism and in turn keeping students in the classroom giving them a greater chance to successfully complete curriculum requirements.
To make an appointment with an RCCHC provider contact:
Ahoskie Comprehensive Care – (252) 332-3548
Murfreesboro Primary Care – (252) 398-3323
Colerain Primary Care – (252) 356-2404
Creswell Primary Care – (252) 797-0135
Woodland Primary Care – (252) 587-3511
RCCHC operations are a HRSA Health Center Program grantee under 42 U.S.C. 254b.