Kelly Hayes
Pinellas County Health Centers will be receiving $689,094 worth of grants in 2021, U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist announced.
The two grants, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will fund COVID-19 testing.
Pinellas Community Health Centers are currently serving as one of the main COVID-19 testing sites for Pinellas County residents.
“While COVID-19 positivity rates are declining in Pinellas, the virus is very much still with us — with the worst impacts disproportionately impacting low-income communities and people of color,” Crist said in a news release. “Community Health Centers are responding to this disparity by providing COVID-19 tests free of charge to all who need them.”
This announcement follows a $1.1 million grant earlier this summer for Pinellas County and Pinellas Community Health Centers to increase COVID-19 testing.
The Community Health Centers of Pinellas have facilities across the county. The organization was founded in 1980 by Johnnie Ruth Clark to serve minority communities in St. Petersburg. The organization provides holistic, culturally-sensitive care, with services including family medicine, pediatric, OB/GYN, dental, pharmacy, behavioral health, nutrition, exercise, enrollment assistance, chiropractic and podiatry services.
Over the summer, the county has been targeting testing sites in hard-hit zip codes, which primarily reside in minority communities in the county.
Pinellas County reported 79 new cases of coronavirus on Friday. As of Saturday morning, there are 19,667 positive cases in Pinellas, with an overnight positivity rate of 2.03%.
The following is a list of testing site in information for Community Health Centers in Pinellas County:
— CHCP at Clearwater, located at 707 East Druid Road on Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
— CHCP at Pinellas Park, located at 7550 43rd St. North on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
— CHCP at Johnnie Ruth Clarke Center located at 1344 22nd St. South on Wednesdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
