CARIBOU, Maine — Pines Health Services, a federally qualified health center with five locations in Aroostook County, has received $2,209,761 from the Health Resources and Services Administration, which is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
Pines Communications and Community Relations official Casey Bouchard said on Wednesday, Jan. 30, that the grant is a continuation of funding and will allow the facility to continue providing affordable healthcare services for everyone.
“This $2.2 million grant will greatly support and enhance our primary care support services to allow us to continue providing the highest quality patient-centered care, regardless of your ability to pay.” Bouchard said.
“Pines will offer the care you need, when you need it, from providers you know and can trust. We were founded on this principle 38 years ago and it has been our privilege to provide care for local residents ever since.”
Bouchard said that Pines applies for this grant every three years through a competitive process, and that while the money will not fund expansions or additions at any of the five Pines facilities, it will allow Pines to continue serving Aroostook County communities through their health centers in Caribou, Fort Fairfield, Presque Isle, Van Buren and Washburn.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and Rep. Jared Golden said in a joint statement on Jan. 23 that “access to quality, affordable healthcare is crucial to the success and well-being of rural Maine communities.
The HRSA program, according to their press release, “targets the economic and medically vulnerable as well as the geographically isolated.”
Bouchard said that she and Pines staff were “extremely excited” to hear that they received the funding.
“We’re going to be able to continue to take care of the people of Aroostook County,” she said, “and offer services they otherwise may not have had access to.”
