AP Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $1.5 Million in Opioid, Behavioral Health Services for Southern Illinois Community Health Centers

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded community health centers in Southern Illinois a total of $1,560,000 through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Integrated Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) Program and the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program. Community health centers are community-based organizations that improve access to affordable, high-quality health care in underserved urban and rural communities by integrating primary health care with pharmacy, mental health, substance abuse, and oral health services.

“Community health centers serve a vital function across our state, providing affordable, comprehensive health care to more than one million Illinoisans every year,” said Durbin. “Federal investments in our health centers give them certainty to plan for the future and enable patients to access the care they need. Senator Duckworth and I will continue fighting for this important funding.”

“Every Illinoisan, no matter their zip code, deserves the same access to quality health services,” Duckworth said. “This funding is critical for community health centers across Illinois and will help provide necessary, affordable care to thousands of families while also helping to stem the opioid crisis. Senator Durbin and I will keep supporting these important community health centers throughout our state.”

Under this announcement, the following Central Illinois organizations will receive funding to combat the opioid crisis from HRSA’s Integrated Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) Program:

• Community Health and Emergency Services, Inc.: (Cairo): $167,000
• Macoupin County (Carlinville): $167,000
• Rural Health, Inc. (Anna): $167,000
• Shawnee Health Service and Development Corporation (Carterville): $167,000
• Southern Illinois Health Care Foundation (East St. Louis): $167,000

Also under this announcement, Jerseyville Community Hospital District in Jerseyville, Illinois, will receive $725,000 in funding from HRSA’s Rural Communities Opioid Response Program.

Illinois community health centers currently provide primary health care services to approximately 1.4 million Illinois residents – including one out of every four Medicaid patients – at 48 health centers with 350 treatment sites in medically underserved areas. Illinois community health centers employ over 7,600 individuals, equaling a payroll of more than $508 million. They also inject approximately $800 million in operating expenditures into their communities, resulting in an overall economic impact of $1.48 billion and overall employment of 11,700.

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