Ohio Hills Health Services Receives Emergency Grant from Direct Relief to Bolster the Healthcare Safety Net

Ohio Hills Health Services (OHHS) 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.

OHHS was among 518 federally qualified health centers to receive funding 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.

OHHS will use the funds to help to keep patients, employees and community members safe by investing in Personnel Protective Equipment, Tele-health and funding for uninsured patients.  

“Access to primary care is what keeps people healthy and out of the hospital, and the frontline work of Ohio Hills Health Services 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 Ohio Hills Health Services 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.”

OHHS is a federally qualified health center providing medical, dental and behavioral health services in Belmont, Harrison, Guernsey, Monroe and Noble Counties. OHHS accepts Medicare, Medicaid and most insurances and also offers a sliding fee discount program for those who qualify. For more information about OHHS contact 740-239-OHHS.

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