By James Wright
AFRO Staff Writer
First Lady Michelle Obama visited the Upper Cardozo Health Center on Monday. (Courtesy Photo)
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(June 30, 2009) - When First Lady Michelle Obama announced on Monday the release of $4,407,612 in grants to community health centers in the District of Columbia, she traveled north from the White House to an area that is changing rapidly because of gentrification and the influence of the city’s growing Latino population.
Obama visited the Upper Cardozo Health Center in the Columbia Heights section of the city to announce that the center has been awarded a $2.5 million grant from federal stimulus monies.
Obama toured the facility, which has served the community since the 1968 riots after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King left the Fourteenth Street corridor devastated. The facility is owned by Unity Health Care, nonprofit that owns 29 other clinics in the city.
Obama, who was an executive with the University of Chicago’s Hospital, said community health clinics are becoming increasingly important to the lives of Americans.
“Community health centers provide care to the Americans who need it most and their work has never been more important,” she said. “These grants will help centers in District of Columbia serve more Americans who simply can’t afford insurance coverage anymore.”
The Upper Cardozo center provides a wide range of services such as HIV/AIDS testing, pregnancy monitoring, check-ups for indigent residents and even physicals for young people who want to participate in sports. These services are available to residents who have no health insurance or those who can pay a small fee.
One of President Obama’s initiatives regarding health is digitizing health records and the money given to the Upper Cardozo center will be a part of that effort. This is part of the president’s overall effort to establish 126 new health centers nationally with a budgeted $155 million in grants.
With the $2.5 million, the Upper Cardozo Center will be able to expand to 20 new exam rooms and able to handle 24 percent more patients, according to Mrs. Obama. She also said the construction of the new clinic space will have a multiplier effect by creating jobs in construction and renovation.
After a meeting with the leadership of the clinic, Mrs. Obama shook hands and administered hugs to patients and staff members.