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Nevada health centers get federal funds

Four health centers in Nevada on Friday were awarded a little more than $1 million in Affordable Health Care funding to expand primary care services.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the awards, which will help the health centers in the Silver State hire an estimated 12 new staff, expand their hours and expand the care they provide to include oral health, as well as mental and behavioral health. The funding also might help with pharmacy and vision services.

“Health centers are a key part of how the Affordable Care Act is working to improve access to care for millions of Americans,” Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said in a prepared statement. “These funds will enable health centers to provide high-quality primary health care to more people including the newly insured, many of whom may be accessing primary care for the first time in Nevada.”

The funding will enable the Nevada health centers to reach an estimated 11,836 new patients in the state.

Nationally, $295 million was awarded to 1,195 health centers in every U.S. state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Pacific Basin.

The four health centers in Nevada include the Nevada Health Centers, FirstMed Health and Wellness Center, Northern Nevada HIV Outpatient Program, Education and Services and Hawc Inc.

Contact Yesenia Amaro at yamaro@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440. Find her on Twitter: @yeseniaamaro.

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