Whiteside County gets nearly $645,000 in federal COVID relief funds

MORRISON – The Whiteside County Health Department was awarded $644,936 from a pool of $35 million in federal American Rescue Plan money divvied up between 42 community health centers in Illinois.

The money is earmarked for agencies “to modernize their health care infrastructure and enhance their work to address health disparities in underserved communities,” members of Illinois’ congressional delegation said in a news release announcing the award.

The county runs a federally funded community health clinic at 1300 W. Second St. in Rock Falls.

“CHCs will use this funding for COVID-19-related capital needs, constructing new facilities,renovating and expanding existing facilities to enhance response to pandemics, and purchasing new state-of-the-art equipment, including telehealth technology, mobile medical vans, and freezers to store vaccines,” delegation members said in the release.

Whiteside County’s plans for its share were not immediately available.

The American Rescue Plan Act, passed in March, provides $1.9 trillion to help speed recovery from the health and economic effects of the pandemic.