HRSA Announces $90 Million to Support Health Centers Address Health Disparities

The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) this week announced the availability of nearly $90 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to support new data-driven efforts for HRSA Health Center Program-supported health centers and look-alikes to identify and reduce health disparities. HRSA’s modernized data collection and reporting initiative, Uniform Data System Patient-Level Submission (UDS+), is designed to collect more and higher quality data on social determinants of health while streamlining and improving data quality reporting for health centers.

According to HRSA, the funding will enable health centers to tailor efforts to improve health outcomes and advance health equity. The funding can be used for various COVID-19 activities and for modifying, enhancing, and expanding health services and infrastructure by improving health information technology, enhancing data collection, and supporting related staff training. These efforts will advance broader COVID-19 response, mitigation, and recover efforts, as well as help prepare for future public health emergencies.

Applications are due to HRSA by Monday, May 23. Additional information is available here.