Greene County Health Care (GCHC) announced today a $50,000 emergency grant from the medical aid organization Direct Relief, in partnership with the National Association of Community Health Centers.

GCHC was among 518 federally qualified health centers to receive funding through Direct Relief’s $25 million COVID-19 Fund for Community Health. The fund recognizes the profound effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the finances, services, staff and patients of community health centers.

“Greene County Health Care will use these funds to help the most vulnerable among us,” said GCHC CEO Doug Smith. “Due to COVID-19, an even greater number of people depend on community health centers for their care. We’ll use these funds to help the people who depend on us.”

“Access to primary care is what keeps people healthy and out of the hospital, and the frontline work of Greene County Health Care 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 Greene County Health Care for their health care.

“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.”

Greene County Health Care (GCHC) is a community health center with sites in Greene, Pitt and Pamlico counties. GCHC provides medical, dental, mental and telehealth health care in those counties and eastern North Carolina. GCHC accepts most insurance and offers care on a sliding fee scale to patients who qualify under federal guidelines. This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number H80CS10607 Health Center Program, in the amount of $8,654,913 or 48% of total program costs with $8,956,453 or 50% financed with nongovernmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov. GCHC is licensed by the state of North Carolina, led by an independent Board of Directors and is an FQHC Program grantee under 42 U.S.C. 254. GCHC receives HHS funding and has Federal Health Service (PHS) deemed status with respect to certain health or health-related claims, including medical malpractice claims, for itself and its covered individuals.