Contact: Shana Stribling 202.224.0309
Friday, September 17, 2004

KANSAS CITY, MO – U.S. Senator Kit Bond today visited the Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center in Kansas City, Missouri's first Community Health Center, to announce that he secured the largest increase in federal funding for Community Health Centers in program history.

"Thousands of children and families have lived healthier, more productive lives because they had access to a community health center," said Bond. "This increase in funding for our health centers is a real commitment to the long-term health of children and families."

As a senior Senator on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Bond and Senator Fritz Hollings (D-SC) secured a $250 million increase for the Community Health Centers program in the fiscal year 2005 Senate Labor-HHS spending bill. The provision that passed the Committee earlier this week is the largest increase in federal funding in the program' s history. Before being signed into law the bill must be passed by the full U.S. Senate and reconciled with the House of Representatives' bill.

Senator Bond has worked with community health centers to expand access to high-quality care since serving as Governor. Inspired by the success of the health centers in Missouri, Senator Bond joined Senator Hollings and began a National Health Center Expansion Initiative in 2000 to double the number of patients served by health centers by 2006. Since this initiative began, federal funding for health centers had increased by $599 million— a 58 percent increase. Today's success brings the total funding increase to $848 million – an 83 percent increase, bringing Senator Bond close to his goal.

"Senator Bond continues to be a champion for Community health centers and the medically underserved throughout the country. Sam Rodgers and the health clinics in Missouri are proud of what Sen. Bond does to help provide health care for those in need. We appreciate very much the increased funding of $250 million for Community Health Centers. This will go a long way to allow Health centers to expand capacity and allow access for the medically underserved."

The first community health center in Missouri, the Samuel U. Rodgers Community Health Center was founded in 1968. The Center serves almost 17,000 patients each year in 13 locations. Comprehensive outpatient primary care and several specialized services in a convenient one-stop shop are offered at this important Center.

Bond secured $500,000 in fiscal year 2004 for the Center's South Health Clinic for their methamphetamine treatment program and $250,000 in fiscal year 2002 for the Center's computer and equipment needs.

Kit Bond is Missouri’s senior Senator and is now in his third term after having served the state previously during two terms as Governor.