Worcester, Mass., Health Center Wins Federal Grant.

Byline: Jenn Abelson

Aug. 27--At a time when budget cuts have sliced into health care services across the state, Framingham got good news yesterday: Great Brook Valley Health Center in Worcester secured a long-awaited federal grant to open a community health clinic in town by the end of the year.

Regional officials hope over the next five years to build a comprehensive community health center that offers primary care, dental, and pharmaceutical services for low-income and uninsured patients. The grant of $856,375 was nearly $200,000 more than what was requested. Only two were awarded in Massachusetts.

"This health center will provide community based primary care and alleviate the need for people to travel to health centers outside of Framingham or to hospitals for their health care," said James W. Hunt Jr., president and chief executive officer of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers. "This is a giant step forward and an extraordinary achievement for the community."

Only two health centers in the state received grants to expand their clinics into new communities -- Framingham and Hyannis. As part of a presidential initiative to improve access to health care, the Department of Health and Human Services awarded 79 grants for new sites across the country, totaling nearly $43 million, according to Steve Merrill, a spokesman for the Health Resources and Services Administration.

"I think it's great for the community. It's going to provide access to health care particularly for low-income and uninsured individuals," said Martin Cohen, executive director of the MetroWest Community Health Care Foundation, which has committed at least $300,000 for the first three years to help launch the center in downtown Framingham.

Over the past year, the foundation has worked with Great Brook Valley and other health care organizations to submit the lengthy application that demonstrated Framingham and the surrounding areas were medically underserved.