Indianola Enterprise-Tocsin
Delta Health Center Gets More Funding For COVID-19 Testing
By BRyan Davis
Mound Bayou-based Delta Health Center has received more funding to increase COVID-19 testing capacity.
According to a release from U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith this week, the health center received $291,289 for its program, which has already tested thousands in the Mississippi Delta.
DHC has an office in Indianola and conducted a two-day testing site here last week, swabbing nearly 700 patients.
This funding is part of an overall $6.72 million award to 20 community health centers in Mississippi for testing purposes.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) funding can be used to support testing-related activities, including: purchasing personal protective equipment; training for staff, outreach, procurement and administration of tests; laboratory services; notifying identified contacts exposed to infected health center patients; and expanding walk-up or drive-up testing capabilities, the release said.
The funding was appropriated in the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, which included an additional $825 million specifically for community health centers and rural health clinics.