Northwest Health Services (NHS) has received Health Center Program, a grant from the Health Resources Services Administration, continuing tradition of quality care for Northwest Missouri families. The grant provides over $4.5 million to Northwest Health Services and also funds three other health center organizations in Missouri.

Missouri health centers provide affordable, accessible, quality and cost-effective primary healthcare to more than 500,000 Missourians regardless of their ability to pay.

The grant goes directly toward providing accessible healthcare for a 15 county service area in Northwest Missouri to include integrated primary medical, dental health, and mental health.

Health centers like NHS are also increasingly becoming the first line of defense in the nation’s opioid epidemic. A recent review of the Missouri Annual Vital Statistics shows that once again Missouri’s life expectancy is decreasing due to an increase in suicide rates, lack of mental healthcare and the opioid crisis. NHS provides a Medication Assisted Treatment program for the St. Joseph community that is directly impacting the opioid crisis in Missouri.

The importance of community health center funding that NHS receives is more important now than ever. U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt recently sponsored a bipartisan measure to continue federally funding community health centers.

Northwest Health Services is an organization of Federally Qualified Community Health Centers with locations spread over 15 counties. NHS is located in areas where care is needed but scarce, and improves access to care for Americans regardless of their insurance status.