National consulting firm assists four Federally Qualified Health Centers receive ACA funds for opioid substance abuse

Rockford IL: March 15, 2016 – US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced today the awarding of $1,435,417.00 in Affordable Care Act funding to clients of theFranaGroup.

$1,435,417.00 in funding awards will help establish Substance Abuse Service Expansion to help meet the opioid epidemic in four states; Illinois, Michigan, Kansas, and Louisiana. Awards ranged from $325,000 to $406,250 each. The purpose of this grant program is to support existing Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) clinics to expand access to Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) and education to curb opioid misuse and abuse, such as heroin and prescription pain medications.

HHS is committed to ensuring more people across the country have access to the quality patient-centered care they deserve. Health centers are key partners in improving access to quality, affordable primary health care services for persons in high risk populations. These awards build on the $94 million total awarded to help clinics train approximately 800 providers to treat nearly 124,000 new patients nationally.

FQHCs now represesnt the largest primary practice in the United States. They served more than 23 million patients with 87 million patient visits at over 9,000 service sites in 2014 with a combined staffing of over 170,000 health care professionals. Health centers now provide primary care to one in fourteen people living in the United States.

About theFranaGroup

theFranaGroup, founded in 1999, is a national healthcare consulting firm that provides solutions for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), including a wide array of services tailored to Comunity Health Center operations and strategy, both before and after funding. With a proven track record of success, theFranaGroup offers a variety of services to achieve and maintain FQHC status including grant writing, strategic planning, management consulting and Board and staff development. The firm has helped clients earn more than $1 billion in direct funding and enhanced billing capabilities. In 2014 alone, theFranaGroup client clinics served more than 525,000 unduplicated patients with approximately 1,600,000 patient visits. As a result, these healthcadre facilities better served their communities and improved the overall access and quality of health services provided to the most at-risk populations.