Nearly $10 million in federal grants awarded to Florida health centers, groups

The Obama administration this week announced nearly $10 million in grants for Florida health centers and organizations to expand oral health services and reduce the number of uninsured children in the state.

Grants include $2 million awarded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, to two organizations working to enroll children in Medicaid coverage through the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP — the University of South Florida and the Putnam County School District in Northeast Florida, each of which received $1 million.

Nearly 2.7 million children in Florida are enrolled in CHIP or Medicaid, according to CMS data, representing about 91 percent of eligible kids in the state.

Another $7.6 million in grants were announced for 20 Florida health centers to expand dental and oral health services, the U.S. Department of Health and Human services said Thursday. Among the grant recipients were four Miami-Dade centers, which received $350,000 each, including Borinquen Health Care Center, Community Health South Florida, Jessie Trice Community Health Center and Miami Beach Community Health Center.

North Broward Hospital District, the public hospital network known as Broward Health, also received a $350,000 grant from HHS to hire new dentists, dental hygienists and other professionals to treat more patients.

This story was originally published June 16, 2016 at 6:24 PM with the headline "Nearly $10 million in federal grants awarded to Florida health centers, groups."