18 Maine community health centers to share $4.7 million for COVID-19 testing

Photo / Maureen Milliken Community health centers from Kittery to Eagle Lake will share $4.7 million in federal money that will allow them to test for COVID-19. Among the health centers sharing the money is DFD Russell Medical Centers, with headquarters in Leeds and clinics in Leeds, Monmouth and Turner.

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By Staff

Community health centers arcoss Maine will share $4.7 million in federal money to buy, administer and expand capacity for COVID-19 testing.

The money will go to 18 rural health centers and programs from Kittery, in York County, to Eagle Lake, in Aroostook County. Funds come from the $480 billion federal CARES Act, which includes $25 billion for COVID-19 testing. Health experts have said that extensive testing is the key to gauging the spread of the virus and having more informed data to help open the economy.

“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,” said U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, in a joint news release announcing the funding.

“Expanded testing is crucial for our ability to ultimately reopen our society and to give Mainers the confidence to resume their daily lives," they said. "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.”

Community heatlh centers awarded the money are:

Penobscot Community Health Center, Bangor, $1,074,859;
Healthreach Community Health Centers, Waterville, $513,739;
Katahdin Valley Health Center, Penobscot and Aroostook counties, $336,769;
Pines Health Services, Caribou, $326,134;
Health Access Network, Inc., Lincoln, $265,624;
Portland Community Health Center, $232,339;
Fish River Rural Health, Eagle Lake, $205,429;
DFD. Russell Medical Center Inc., Leeds, $202,789;
Bucksport Regional Health Center, $197,449;
Sebasticook Family Doctors, Dexter and Dover-Foxcroft, $184,624;
Sacopee Valley Health Center, awarded $182,794;
York County Community Action Corp., $179,104.
Eastport Health Care Inc., $158,014;
Saint Croix Regional Family Health Center, Calais, $146,974;
Regional Medical Center at Lubec, $145,024;
Harrington Family Health Center, $143,914;
Islands Community Medical Services Inc., Vinalhaven, $120,994; and
Maine Mobile Health Program Inc., Augusta, $116,224.

The state last week announced increased testing capacity, with the addition of tests provided by IDEXX Laboratories Inc. (Nasdaq: IDXX), of Westbrook. The state is buying enough tests from IDEXX to run 5,000 tests a week when added to the testing the state was already doing. The $760,000 for the tests also comes from CARES Act money.

Gov. Janet Mills said at the time that the state was also pursuing other means to increase testing. The increase in testing allows health care facilities to test patients, and will allow anyone in the state suspected of having COVID-19 to be tested, and increase testing in congregant care homes and more.

While the additional testing will mean more cases in the state, Nirav Shah, director of Maine CDC, said the more significant statistic is the "positivity rate" — the amount of positive tests compared to overall tests. That rate is an important statistic in gauging the spread of COVID-19 in the state, Shah said.