The Office of the Governor of the State of Wisconsin

10/30/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/31/2024 10:00

Gov. Evers Celebrates Community Health Center Groundbreaking in Racine

Press Release: Gov. Evers Celebrates Community Health Center Groundbreaking in Racine

State of Wisconsin sent this bulletin at 10/30/2024 12:48 PM CDT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 30, 2024
Contact: [email protected]
Gov. Evers Celebrates Community Health Center Groundbreaking in Racine
New King Center received $20 million through governor's Healthcare Infrastructure Capital Grant Programto expandaccess to healthcare statewide
RACINE - Gov. Tony Everstodayvisited Racineto celebrate the groundbreaking of thenew Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.Community Center and Health Center(King Center)in the Lincoln-King neighborhood. Photos of today's groundbreaking event are available here and here.

In 2022,the city of Racine received a $20 milliongrantthrough thegovernor's Healthcare Infrastructure Capital Grant Program,which was created by Gov. Evers using federal pandemic relief funds Wisconsin received under the Biden-Harris Administration's American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), to support the development of a new community health center in Racine. The new King Center will include a new Federally QualifiedHealth Center(FQHC)that will provide integrated medical, dental, and behavioral healthcare to low-income folks and families, includingthose who are uninsured or underinsured.

"Whether it'sfinding transportation, cultural or language barriers, taking off ofwork, or finding care for kids-we know these issues can often be insurmountable obstacles in accessing healthcare," said Gov. Evers. "This new center is going to break down those barriers for folks and families in Racine and meet them where they are with care they can afford.This new facility is going tohelp address disparate health outcomes that hold families back, support local jobs and opportunities for growth, and chart a healthier, brighter future forward for Racine, and as a state, we are so glad for the opportunity to be a part of it."

The King Center willbridge an important gap in healthcare coverage in Racine, providing high-quality care within the community and close to home for low-income families, as well as bilingual care to better serve Racine's Hispanic and Latino families while keeping jobs inthe area and helping to attract and retainnew medical professionals. Expected to open in 2026, the center is also slated to become Racine's first net-zero building.

To date, more than $100 million in grant investments havebeen awarded to support over 25 healthcare infrastructure projects statewide to address healthcare access needs in communities across the statethrough the governor's Healthcare Infrastructure Capital Grant Program. In addition to the new King Center, other projectsfunded by the Healthcare Infrastructure Capital Grant Program include $20 million for a partial hospital replacement at Marshfield Clinic in Park Falls, $6 million for constructing a new clinic in Elroy, whichopened in January, more than $4 million to support expanding access to quality healthcare services in Janesville and Edgerton, $158,000to expand mental health services in rural Ripon, and $7.9 million for capital improvement projects in Appleton, among others. A complete list of Healthcare Infrastructure Capital Grant Program recipients can be found here.

This also comes as, earlier this month, Gov. Evers announced $50 million for 50 projects in communities across Wisconsin funded through the state's new Non-State Grant Program, of which more than $15 million was awarded to expand medical, emergency, dental, and mental health services in local and Tribal communities across the state, including $1.5 million for the Tamarack Health Hayward Medical Center in Hayward, $1.2 million for the Sokaogon Chippewa Community, Mole Lake Band of Lake Superior Chippewa's new health clinic, and $700,000 for Western Wisconsin Health for their Saving Rural Obstetrics Program in St. Croix County.A full list of projects funded by the new Non-State Grant Program is available here.
An online version of this release is available here.
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Office of the Governor • 115 East Capitol, Madison, WI 53702
Press Office Email: [email protected]
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