CAMDEN, NJ – U.S. Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-01) announced today that a federally-qualified community health center in South Jersey will receive a grant of $133,440 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). This grant will support healthcare services for disadvantaged South Jersey residents by empowering a vital healthcare center to continue providing essential community services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The grant recipient, Project H.O.P.E., specializes in the health and well-being of homeless residents in Camden, providing primary healthcare, behavioral healthcare and social work services to the city’s most vulnerable populations. This supplementary grant, a continuation of the relationship between Project H.O.P.E. and the HRSA’s Health Center Cluster grant program, supports the organization’s efforts to increase quality of care for patients with hypertension. The additional funding will help implement self-monitoring of blood pressure and decrease the number of patients with uncontrolled hypertension.

“This pandemic has laid bare the vast inequities in our healthcare system,” said Congressman Norcross. “Health centers like Project H.O.P.E. help bridge the gap by providing high-quality healthcare for South Jersey residents who need it the most. This grant recognizes how vital local health centers are to the well-being of at-risk residents, and with nearly half a million Americans with high blood pressure dying each year, this funding is more important than ever. I commend the team of healthcare professionals at Project H.O.P.E for their commitment to expanding access to quality care and improving the lives of so many members of our community.”

“This U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), funding enables Project H.O.P.E. to further strengthen our quality improvement activities to improve blood pressure control in patients,” said Patricia DeShields, CEO of Project H.O.P.E., Inc. “In the three-year project we’ll be using self-measured blood pressure technology to increase the number of adult patients with controlled hypertension. The funding will improve access and quality of care for patients with hypertension while making blood pressure monitoring more convenient.”

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Contact: Carrie Healey, Communications Director
carrie.healey@mail.house.gov