Funding expands quality health care access to Northeast Oklahomans
OMES would like to recognize our partners at the Oklahoma Department of Health for their progress in expanding health care accessibility through the development of Community Health Connection of Oklahoma. CHC is an Oklahoma Primary Care Association project focused on providing quality and accessible health care to Oklahomans.
CHC’s projects and services empower individuals to take a proactive rather than a reactive approach to their health care. When Oklahomans can address their health care needs, their sense of well-being increases and they become more productive members of society.
CHC knows access to affordable and quality health care services remains one of the greatest challenges in the health care industry. To address these issues, the state Legislature allocated $50 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) – State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) to OSDH to increase capacity at community health centers across the state. Over $3.5 million was allocated from OSDH to CHC to assist in the development of facilities to increase access to primary care services.
CHC’s Kendall-Whittier location recently completed renovations and reports a 2.5% growth in the number of people they can serve. These needed updates helped take the burden off CHC so that they can better focus on health care and client service.
The Kendall-Whittier renovations have utilized 10% of CHC’s $3.5 million budget, completing part one of a three-phase plan. OSDH and CHC’s responsible use of these funds reaffirms the state’s commitment to expanding health care access to underserved populations at a time when it is most needed.
Additionally, CHC is breaking through language barriers in health care to increase equitable access to people of all socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. As 75% of their patients are members of Hispanic and Latino communities, CHC is proud to share that 80% of their frontline staff and 100% of the call center staff are bilingual. OMES commends OSDH and CHC for their outstanding progress in increasing primary care services expansion.
Services provided by CHC include primary care, dental care, reproductive care, integrative behavioral health programs, HIV testing and many more. Visit the CHC website for a complete list.
Anyone interested in receiving CHC services can call to book an appointment at one of the four CHC sites in the Tulsa area.
For a full list of all ARPA programs, please view the 2023 SLFRF report. To track live progress of all State of Oklahoma ARPA programs, check out the ARPA Program Tracker dashboard.
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About OMES
The Office of Management and Enterprise Services provides financial, property, purchasing, human resources and information technology services to all state agencies, and assists the Governor’s Office on budgetary policy matters.
Our mission: Provide excellent service, expert guidance and continuous improvement in support of our partners’ goals. For more information on the agency, visit the OMES website. For more information on the state’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund progress, visit Oklahoma ARPA.
