Flint Hills Community Health Center will continue to utilize grant funding issued by the state at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic at least through the remainder of the calendar year following the FHCHC Board of Directors meeting Tuesday.
Board members gave unanimous approval to an extension of the health center’s H8E COVID response grant. The grant was issued back in March of 2020 and originally provided $240,000 to be spent on testing and testing supplies.
This is the second, and final extension, to be filed by the health center after it was previously extended through Apr. 30, 2022. Chief Financial Officer Seresa Howe says there is still around $125,000 available within the grant after expected supply and staffing costs did not come to fruition last year.
Health Center CEO Renee Hively says a major part of that had to do with additional resources allocated by the state at the height of the pandemic.
The grant has now been extended for an additional 12 months through next spring. The purpose of the grant will remain the same.
Separately Tuesday, Hively sought approval to begin the official name change process for the health center as part of its rebranding effort. This comes after the board approved an option for the name change during its November board meeting.
Hively says the name change process will be a lengthy one with an exact date for when the new images and name will be made public still pending at this time.
The health center once again closed out the year with a positive financial balance thanks to a $60,000 net gain for the month of December against an estimated net loss of $54,000. The health center ended the year with a net income balance of $644,000 which is lower than last year’s net income of just over $1 million at this time.
The FHCHC Board of Directors will reconvene for its monthly meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 22 at noon via Zoom.
