LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A health center in Augusta, Arkansas is receiving $1 million federal funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
ARcare will receiving the funding from the Biden-Harris administration to increase healthcare access for people that will be released from prison and are reentering the community.
The funding is meant to use "innovative approaches" to help people before they are released to look at any health issues. After spending time incarcerated, upwards of 80% people can have substance use conditions as well as chronic medical and psychiatric issues, according to the HRSA press release.
Opioid overdose among people released from prison is higher and researchers say they can also face heightened health risks such as diabetes, hepatitis, and hypertension.
“People reentering the community from incarceration are particularly vulnerable to poor health outcomes and mortality," said HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson. "We can change that if care and services are more closely connected to the reentry experience, which is why we are working to clarify that HRSA-funded health centers can provide pre-release services and why we are investing in health centers engaging with individuals prior to their release to better support their successful and healthy reentry to the community.”
Health centers receiving this funding focus on the following needs:
- Managing chronic conditions
- Reducing the risk of drug overdose
- Mental health and substance use disorder treatment
- Preventing, screening, diagnosing, and treating infections diseases
