Lynn health center hesitant about stimulus aid

LYNN – The prospect of receiving federal stimulus money “is great news,” said Lynn Community Health Center Director Lori Berry, “but the devil is in the details.”Berry is waiting to see how much economic recovery money will be allocated to the Union Street center and what sort of spending guidelines will apply to the money.The Center hopes to receive federal money to help pay for its long-planned expansion into an adjacent lot.”Our plans are moving ahead based on the fact that we will get some money from stimulus,” Center spokeswoman Cindy Steger-Wilson said.Steger-Wilson said the Center is in a strong position to claim a share of the federal money because the 30,810 patients it treated in 2008 represents a relatively high number compared to many other centers across the country. Its expansion plans are well advanced and it has a tentative agreement to buy the land it wants to build on.”We are very set to compete,” Steger-Wilson said.The $24 million building plan is aimed at expanding clinical service space and helping the Center centralize medical offices spread across the city.Current plans call for leaving the top floor of the four-story building vacant until additional expansion is required.Chances of the Center receiving stimulus money are good: President Obama announced $155 million in health center infrastructure spending on Mar. 2 and another $1.5 billion in similar spending is part of the nationwide economic stimulus package.Most of the $764 million in stimulus money awarded to Massachusetts on Wednesday is intended to offset potential Medicaid spending cuts through July 2010 and help maintain coverage and eligibility for all existing MassHealth and Commonwealth Care recipients as well as allow for anticipated caseload increases.”I’m pleased that these federal funds will help Massachusetts maintain its role as a leader in health reform, while making certain that our hospitals and health centers have the resources to provide access to the quality, preventive care that so many of our most vulnerable citizens urgently need,” said U.S. Rep. John Tierney.