ST. GEORGE — Thirteen Utah health centers – including three in Southern Utah – were awarded quality improvement grant awards by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services based on high quality care and services offered.
The health centers were recognized Monday during a ceremony at the Fourth Street Clinic in Salt Lake City, including Family Healthcare in St. George, Enterprise Valley Medical Clinic in Enterprise and Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah: Health Department in Cedar City.
Enterprise Valley Medical Clinic received $81,068, Family Healthcare received $140,006 and Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah: Health Department received $70,271.
The funding is given to health centers to help them continue to improve the quality of services they offer.
The announcement of the awards came during National Health Center Week, which aims to spread awareness about the role that community health centers play in providing affordable health care to the communities they serve.
Family Healthcare and Enterprise Valley Medical Center, along with Fourth Street Clinic, received the Health Center Quality Leader Award for the best overall clinical performance among the top 30 percent nationwide.
“It’s exciting because we work so hard; and to be awarded something like that is a real validation of the excellent work that we do every day,” Family Healthcare CEO Lori Wright said.
This is the fourth year Family Healthcare has received the quality grant, which it will use to continue to provide quality training and paying the three staff members dedicated to quality care efforts.
While all staff members at Family Healthcare work toward greater quality, they have three employees whose main work is to do things like calling patients to remind them of appointments or following up with them after they’ve seen a doctor.
“It’s a great honor, and it’s a representation of the great work that we do,” Wright said.
Health and Human Services awarded $125 million to 1,352 health centers across the U.S. The centers in Utah received $911,381 distributed among the 13 recipients, according to an Association for Utah Community Health press release.
The amount each center received was based on performance and being awarded in different categories: electronic health record reporters, clinical quality improvers, health center quality leaders, national quality leaders, enhancing access to care, delivering high value health care, addressing health disparities, advancing health information technology and achieving patient-centered medical home recognition.
Being awarded in certain categories also enables a health center to display a badge on its website and a certificate in its office.
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