$9.35m from US to aid clinics’ work

The nonprofit was among eight centers in Massachusetts sharing in $80 million in stimulus money allotted Dec. 9 by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration.

Nationwide, $600 million was awarded to fund construction and renovation projects at 85 community health centers to help networks improve technology and pay for a demonstration program evaluating the use of family-centered care.

“We were thrilled to be one of only 85 centers to receive funding across the country,’’ said Maura Smith, director of development and external relations for Lowell Community Health Center. “For Lowell to stand out really shows there is an incredible need to serve more patients in the Greater Lowell area and that our facilities are in dire need for an upgrade.’’

That the project is shovel-ready and will create 100 new permanent jobs in the health care industry, on top of 197 temporary construction jobs, also “made us stand out from the pack,’’ Smith said.

The federal grants, intended to create jobs and help provide care to more than 500,000 additional patients in underserved communities, are the latest in a series of stimulus awards to community health centers, which serve patients regardless of ability to pay. Nationwide, the centers serve more than 17 million, according to the federal government.

The Lowell center, which turns 40 in 2010, provides primary care, behavioral health services, and other services such as asthma and diabetes management. It is now located in 35,000 square feet spread among eight sites in Lowell: three regular clinics; a special clinic, the Metta Health Center serving the Southeast Asian population; two school-based clinics; and two administrative offices. It also runs a detoxification facility at Tewksbury Hospital.

With the help of the stimulus money, the Lowell center plans to consolidate five of its Lowell operations, the three regular clinics and the two offices, to a single 100,000-square-foot space it is purchasing on six floors of a vacant former mill building at 26 Jackson St.

The federal money will fund almost a third of the $30.5 million cost of outfitting and equipping the space.

“It’s a huge infusion of much-needed capital that otherwise would be very difficult to find in this fund-raising environment,’’ Smith said.

The center plans to cover as much of the remaining costs as it can through a variety of funding sources, including federal grants and federal and state tax credits already in hand; other federal and foundation grants it is seeking; and a private fund drive. Whatever cannot be raised, the center will borrow.

In a statement relayed through her office, US Representative Niki Tsongas, a Lowell Democrat, said: “I was pleased to join President Obama a few weeks ago at the White House when he announced this tremendous investment in community health centers. This is especially good news for the Lowell Community Health Center, which is a vital source of high-quality, culturally diverse care for tens of thousands of people in the city of Lowell and surrounding communities.’’

“This significant investment will enable LCHC and community health centers across the country to serve additional patients while creating needed health care and construction jobs,’’ Tsongas added.

The Lowell project is expected to get underway next summer and to be completed by the summer of 2011. With the help of a separate $970,000 stimulus grant awarded in June, the center plans next year to double the size of the Metta Health Center, adding 4,000 square feet.

Center officials said the expanded space will help it keep pace with growing demand for its services. The number of patients served by the center more than tripled between 2000 and 2008, from 9,000 to 32,151. But even with that growth, the center has had to put people on waiting lists, which for patients with nonurgent conditions has meant waiting for months to see a doctor.

With the new space, the center will be able to more than double its number of exam rooms, from 37 to 85. That increase will allow it to hire more medical providers and, in turn, to increase by 10,000 to 12,000 the number of patients it serves each year.

“This is the single most important event that has happened in the health center’s history to date,’’ said Dr. Kumble Rajesh, a pediatrician and the center’s chief medical officer.

He said that with more doctors, the center can not only serve more patients but “really improve the delivery of care,’’ because more patients will have their medical issues addressed early by primary care doctors, rather than waiting until their conditions worsen and they seek care in an emergency room.

Getting to see a primary care doctor can be difficult anywhere, “let alone at a community health center,’’ Rahesh said. “Reducing waiting times like this will be enormously beneficial to the community.’’

Governor Deval Patrick had directly approached US Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, urging that Massachusetts clinics, including the Lowell center, receive stimulus funding.

“Every one of these health centers serves a vulnerable population, folks who often don’t have a voice,’’ Patrick said in a recent Globe interview. “With due respect, some of the facilities reflect that, in how state of the art they are - or are not.’’