Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced that Community Clinical Services in Lewiston has been awarded a total of $329,717 to expand COVID-19 testing and tracing capacities.  The funding was awarded through the Paycheck Protection Program & Health Care Enhancement Act that was signed into law on April 24, 2020.  This legislation, which Senators Collins and King supported, included $52.7 million for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, $4.7 million for 18 Maine Community Health Centers, and nearly $2 million for 39 rural health clinics in Maine to support COVID-19 testing.   

“Community Clinical Services provides high-quality health care to many seniors and low-income families throughout Androscoggin and Cumberland Counties,” said Senators Collins and King in a joint statement.  “This important funding will support the health center’s ongoing efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic through increased testing and tracing.”

With this funding, Community Clinical Services will expand the range of testing and testing-related activities (such as contact tracing) to best address the needs of their communities, including the purchase of personal protective equipment; training for staff; outreach, procurement, and administration of tests; laboratory services; notifying identified contacts of infected health center patients of their exposure to COVID-19; and the expansion of walk-up or drive-up testing capabilities.

Community Clinical Services, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), provides medical, behavioral, and pediatric dental services to people in Lewiston, Auburn, Durham, Sabattus, Wales, Lisbon, Lisbon Falls, Poland, Minot, Mechanic Falls, and New Gloucester.