WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — On Friday U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King announced Maine would be receiving nearly $5 million from the federal government that will help expand the state’s COVID-19 capacity for testing.
A total of $4,732,797 will be awarded to 18 health centers in Maine. The funding will go towards purchasing, administering, and expanding testing capacity.
The funding for Maine’s health centers was included in the $480 billion bipartisan agreement that was signed into law last month, which included $25 billion for COVID-19 testing efforts.
“Community health centers are the backbone of Maine’s rural health care system, and they have been instrumental in helping to protect Mainers’ health during the current public health crisis,” Collins and King said in a joint statement. “Expanded testing is crucial for our ability to ultimately reopen our society and to give Mainers the confidence to resume their daily lives. This important funding will be used to increase walk-up and drive-up testing as well as purchase the PPE necessary to help protect those on the front lines.”
Gov. Janet Mills announced a new partnership with Maine-based biomedical company IDEXX Labs on Thursday that will triple the state’s capacity for testing. IDEXX recently got FDA approval for its test kit that provides results in approximately 2-3.5 hours.
In addition to the Maine CDC’s roughly 2,300 tests per week, the new agreement says IDEXX will sell the state 5,000 tests per week, as well as donate some additional tests and lend the State lab a machine to do the actual testing. This partnership brings the State’s total capacity to more than 7,000 test per week.
While Mills’ announcement helps the State’s testing capacity, the federal funding will be distributed to various Maine health centers:
- Bucksport Regional Health Center was awarded $197,449.
- D.F.D. Russell Medical Center, Inc., was awarded $202,789.
- Eastport Health Care Inc., was awarded $158,014.
- Fish River Rural Health was awarded $205,429.
- Harrington Family Health Center was awarded $143,914.
- Health Access Network, Inc., was awarded $265,624.
- Healthreach Community Health Centers was awarded $513,739.
- Islands Community Medical Services, Inc., was awarded $120,994.
- Katahdin Valley Health Center, was awarded $336,769.
- Maine Mobile Health Program, Inc., was awarded $116,224.
- Penobscot Community Health Center was awarded $1,074,859.
- Pines Health Services was awarded $326,134.
- Portland Community Health Center was awarded $232,339.
- Regional Medical Center at Lubec was awarded $145,024.
- Sacopee Valley Health Center was awarded $182,794.
- Saint Croix Regional Family Health Center was awarded $146,974.
- Sebasticook Family Doctors was awarded $184,624.
- York County Community Action Corporation was awarded $179,104.
Click here to see how the rest of the federal funds were distributed across the U.S.
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