CANTON -- Community Health Center of the North Country (CHCNC), also known as United Cerebral Palsy Association of the North Country, is to receive $213,162 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for a physician assistant in their Gouverneur facility and a nurse practitioner for their Malone location.

The announcement of the grant was made by Rep. Bill Owens, a Plattsburgh Democrat.

It will also provide for the hiring of three support staff with the goal of increasing access to primary care providers and extending hours of operation to accommodate new patients.

“Healthcare access keeps local communities and economies viable, especially in rural areas where facility distance can make that access a challenge otherwise,” said Owens. “These staffing upgrades help ensure that patients throughout the region can get the care they need within their own communities.”

CHCNC Executive Director Anne F. Richey responded positively to news of the funding. “We are pleased and grateful to be receiving this award. This funding allows our Health Center to meet additional need for primary care services in St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties. Through the addition of a nurse practitioner and a physician’s assistant, we will offer expanded access through additional hours of operation.”

“We are excited to be the recipient of this generous award,” CHCNC Medical Director Dr. Andrew Williams said. “This funding will help us fulfill our mission of providing high quality, affordable health care to residents of the North Country.”

CHCNC has been providing services in St. Lawrence, Jefferson and Franklin Counties since 1975 and became a Federally Qualified Health Center, FQHC, in 2007.