The philanthropic arm of Nebraska Blue Cross and Blue Shield called the Nebraska Blue Foundation awarded $600,000 to Project Access, a program by the Health Center Association of Nebraska which supports Federally Qualified Health Centers in the state.
FQHCs, or community health centers, primarily provide health care to underserved populations, including behavioral health and dental care. The grant will support four rural FQHCs in Columbus, Gering, Grand Island and Norfolk.
Jay Warren-Teamer, executive director at Nebraska Blue, said the foundation’s goal is to support preventative health care access. That includes building recruitment initiatives for primary care physicians, dentists and behavioral health specialists. She said funding clinics that have roots in rural communities is vital.
“(FQHCs have) been in these communities. They have deep relationships, they have credibility, they have the expertise,” Warren-Teamer said. “We're really proud to just be able to kind of uplift and empower the work that's already happening, and hopefully just give it a little boost.”
Rural Nebraskans often face barriers to health care such as lack of providers or transportation. At Good Neighbor Community Health Center in Columbus, CEO Terri Ford-Wolfgram said the funding will likely be used to aid in recruitment and retention efforts for her team, as well as updating equipment in the clinic.
“This funding helps support some of our efforts to recruit with some potential assistance with hiring bonuses, things like that, but it also helps us retain our current staff,” she said. “The other pieces for almost every FQHC we have are aging equipment. It's just a constant battle to keep up with that. And so some of the funding will help us kind of update some of our equipment.”
Since 2024, Ford-Wolfgram said Good Neighbor had over 10,000 unique patients. Ford-Wolfgram said she hopes to improve clinic operations and ensure quality access to healthcare for Nebraskans in rural areas.
“I think all the FQHCs that received this funding have good plans for it, good plans to put it back into the services that we provide,” she said. “So, these have been key in helping us kind of keep that going and try and get ahead of the game a little bit.”