Five clinics serving rural Idaho will be used for costs related to COVID-19 and to provide medical care to people in rural Idaho, according to a Thursday news release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Receive emergency grants totaling approximately $3.6 million to keep going. .

Terry Reilly Health Services will receive $1 million in funding for Homedale clinics. This grant will expand access to primary care, dental, behavioral and pharmaceutical care, COVID-19 testing and vaccination, and her COVID-19 treatment, if available, in Owyhee County. This nonprofit operates free medical clinics in southwestern Idaho, including the clinic at 108 E. Idaho Avenue in Homedale.

The Nez Perce will receive $1 million to build a facility that will provide COVID-19 testing and vaccination. It also provides beds and emergency medical care for tribal and non-tribal patients. According to a news release, medical centers in the region are “severely overcrowded” and lack beds due to the pandemic. There will also be assisted living facilities near the existing Nimiipuu Health Clinic, according to the release. Nimiipuu provides care in Lapwai and Kamia.

Adams County Health Center will receive $1 million to replace, upgrade, and renew clinics, the only community health center in Adams County. The center was built in 1961. It has outdated floor plans and “endless astronomical repair costs,” says the news release. The new facility has more patient care rooms, expanded pharmacy space, and rooms for vision and dental care.E

Baller Health, formerly known as Walter Knox Memorial Hospital, will receive $447,325 to cover losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Emmett Hospital will use the funds for her COVID-19-related expenses to support staffing, facilities, supplies, and overall healthcare.

The Shoshone Bannock Tribe will receive $112,475 to establish a monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19 at the Shoshone Bannock Community Health Center in Fort Hall. The grant will help pay for medical personnel, medical testing supplies, an ultrasound machine that can screen for blood clots, laptops, and other supplies.

“These Emergency Rural Health Care Grants are monumental to the state of Idaho and affected communities and will enable us to build, renovate and equip health care facilities as a result of this support,” said Idaho. said Rudy Soto, USDA Rural Development Director. “These grants will meaningfully improve the health and well-being of people in rural Idaho who have long lacked access to quality, reliable medical services.”