Washington, D.C.--Congressman Eliot Engel announced that the Bronx Community Health Network (BCHN) will receive $2,493,187 and Montefiore Medical Center $568,290 in grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This money was made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Rep. Engel said, “These funds will not only help the people of the Bronx to receive better health care, it will also help our country’s economic health in recovering from the deepening recession. As changes to our broken health care system are considered in Washington, I am pleased to help reward those entities who are currently bringing quality care to New Yorkers. Once reforms are made, I am certain that quality of care will continue, and in fact be enhanced.”

Montefiore Medical Center is an internationally renowned health center which provides high quality medical care to residents of the Bronx and Southern Westchester. BCHN was founded in 1996 to assure quality health care services for medically disadvantaged and underserved people. The health center has committed itself to the delivery of preventive, primary, diagnostic, pharmacy and specialty medical, mental and oral health services to improve the health status of community residents. These residents suffer from disproportionate rates of preventable communicable and chronic illnesses such as asthma, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, obesity and HIV/AIDS.

Rep. Engel is a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health. In March, he was awarded the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) 2009 Distinguished Community Health Superhero Award. The money is part of a total package of $851 million in grants to address immediate and pressing health center facility and equipment needs, and will increase access to health care for millions of Americans.

The 11-term Congressman said Health Centers provide community-run services to all, regardless of their ability to pay. “At a time when health care costs have dramatically increased across the country, health centers have kept their costs well under those of other health care providers. In addition, research has shown that health centers actually save the health system money, and that their patients see better results and fewer hospital emergency rooms.”