GRANT WILL FUND CONSTRUCTION OF NEW HILLTOP HEALTH CLINIC. - States News Service

WASHINGTON -- The following information was released by the office of Washington Rep. Norman D. Dicks:

The Department of Health and Human Services is awarding grants to 143 community health centers across the nation today, including $12 million to Tacoma's Community Health Care for the construction of a new clinic in the city's Hilltop neighborhood, U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks said.

The new Tacoma clinic will be built at 1202 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, the congressman said. Construction is expected to begin next June, and it will be completed by September 2012.

Rep. Dicks noted that the Hilltop clinic will address the increasing demand for basic health care in the Tacoma area, where 35,000 people each year rely on the four existing health clinics and two dental clinics. 'The addition of this new facility in the Hilltop neighborhood will help keep pace with the need in this area and it will actually lead to cost savings over the longer term,' he said.

He said that 'the clinics reduce health care costs by reducing emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and other avoidable, more costly care.' Rep. Dicks cited a recent George Washington University study concluding that the expansion of health centers will result in the savings of up to $122 billion in total health care costs nationwide between 2010 and 2015.

The congressman also noted that the health care reform legislation passed by Congress contained substantial funding for community health clinics. A total of $9.5 billion was included in the bill to fund new health centers for communities in need and to expand capacity at existing health centers.

The total cost of the new Hilltop clinic will be $15 million, with additional funding expected to come from state and local sources.

In addition to the Hilltop Clinic, three other Washington State facilities will receive grants from HHS today, including $1.073 million for the Interfaith Community Health Center in Bellingham, $6.838 million for Healthpoint in Renton and $12 million for a Yakima Valley Farmworkers Clinic in Toppenish.