MassDevelopment has awarded grants totaling $1,056,010 to 22 community health centers across Massachusetts including Fenway Health through its Community Health Center Grant Program. The program offers grants of up to $50,000 each to fund capital improvement projects including construction, renovation, equipment, furniture, technology-related projects, as well as facility needs related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Commonwealth is fortunate to be home to many first-rate community health centers that provide critical care to families and individuals,” said Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy, who serves as chair of MassDevelopment’s Board of Directors. “The Baker-Polito Administration is pleased to support these health centers that have proven themselves invaluable partners in our collective efforts to combat COVID-19 and address social challenges exacerbated by the pandemic.”
“By providing affordable health care and social services to vulnerable populations across Massachusetts, community health centers are indispensable assets in our neighborhoods,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Dan Rivera. “As we try to bounce back from the pandemic, it’s as important as ever to support the critical capital projects and improvements of these organizations through our Community Health Center Grant Program.”
The Community Health Center Grant Program is funded by the MassDevelopment/Massachusetts Health Educational Facilities Authority (HEFA) Charitable Trust. MassDevelopment offers other financing options to community health centers, including tax-exempt bond financing and TechDollars, a loan program to help nonprofits buy and install technology equipment.
“These grants are critical in the ongoing work of community health centers to serve their under-resourced communities,” said Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers President and CEO Michael Curry, Esq. “Funding that invests in medical equipment upgrades and facility improvements for community health centers means more care for more patients in need.”
The following organizations received Community Health Center Grant Program awards in FY22.
Fenway Health, Boston – $50,000
Fenway Health advocates for and delivers innovative, equitable, accessible health care, supportive services, and transformative research and education to more than 34,000 people annually. The organization centers LGBTQIA+ people, BIPOC individuals, and other underserved communities; for 50 years, Fenway Health has remained one of the few federally qualified health centers with an explicitly LGBTQIA+ focus and an unparalleled commitment to providing culturally competent care. The organization will use this grant to support the renovation of space in its primary building into a centralized sterile processing center.