San Fernando Community Health Center Receives Critical Funding to Aid in Increasing COVID-19 Testing

San Fernando Community Health Center today announced an infusion of $183,950.in grant funding from the medical aid organization Direct Relief and the Abbott Fund, the foundation of the global healthcare company Abbott.

The funding will help San Fernando Community Health Center provide testing, triage and community education related to the COVID-19 virus.

 San Fernando Community Health Center deeply appreciates the support offered by Direct Relief and the Abbott Foundation of our efforts to provide on-going care to our patients and to the communities we serve during this crisis.

San Fernando Community Health Center was among 25 federally qualified health centers to receive a grant this week from the Direct Relief + Abbott Fund COVID-19 Community Grant Program, to expand access to coronavirus testing, triage and treatment in diverse, underserved communities across the country that are disproportionately affected by and at risk from COVID-19.

Nearly 30 million (1 in 12) people in the U.S. -- 63 percent of whom are members of underserved ethnic and racial community groups -- rely on federally qualified health centers like San Fernando Community Health Center for their health care.

“San Fernando Community Health Center and other health centers across the U.S. are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, and their work is more critical than ever,” said Direct Relief President and CEO Thomas Tighe. “Through these grants, Direct Relief and the Abbott Fund aim to bolster the efforts of the safety-net health facilities on which so many patients, families, and communities rely for care and guidance in this public health crisis.”

About the Direct Relief + Abbott Fund COVID-19 Community Grant Program

To support health centers working to provide significant community access to COVID-19 testing, triage and care, Direct Relief and the Abbott Fund established the Direct Relief + Abbott

Fund COVID-19 Community Grant Program. With $5 million in grants from the Abbott Fund, the program helps health centers to strengthen their capabilities to safely and effectively screen, test and triage COVID-19 cases and provide clinical education to patients in the communities they serve, particularly underserved and under-resourced communities.

About San Fernando Community Health Center:  For over 90 years San Fernando Community Health Center (SFCHC) has served low-income people in our community – first with a hospital (San Fernando Community Hospital) and now with SFCHC’s two Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). The main site with 17,115 square feet is on Mott Street in the city of San Fernando and provides primary, dental and behavioral care along with case management and health education. Its second site with 1,500 square feet is in Mission Hills and is co-located with Harbor Recuperative Care Center (HRCC) that provides housing for homeless community members recently released from local acute care hospitals.