"The funding never seems like enough."
But the Carrboro CHC might just get its long-needed funding increase.
President Bush wants to provide an additional $175 million in funds for community health centers across the nation, Rep. David Price, D-N.C., announced Tueday. The funding increase would raise federal contributions to the center's to $1 billion.
"I am on the appropriations committee, and I will be fighting to support Bush's $175 million expansion," Price said.
Community health centers focus on primary care for the uninsured and underprivileged, providing such services as immunizations, prenatal care and treatment of minor trauma.
"Community health centers have become a vital part of healthcare," Price said. "I think the average citizen is barely aware of the role these centers play."
And the Carrboro CHC is being given the opportunity to expand its role in the community.
The Piedmont Health Services Centers -- composed of the Carrboro CHC, five other N.C. primary care centers and a midwifing center -- recently received a federal grant of $700,000 that will allow centers to expand their after-hours care and operate on weekends.
"Federal grants like this do not just come down like mana from heaven," Price said. "No one should think federal grants come by chance.
