Saturday, April 5, 2025
4/5/2025
Fiscal Year 2023 Capital Assistance for Hurricane Response and Recovery Efforts (CARE) - The North Broward Hospital District d/b/a Broward Health is requesting $490,000 to alter/renovate 6,570 square feet of the Specialty Care Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center in Broward County, Florida. Located just north of Miami-Dade County, Broward is the center of South Florida and is home to 1.9 million residents. This property is owned by Broward Health and the building is 49 years old. The Specialty Care Center will be renovated and modified to enhance services and prevent flood damage. These improvements will support the continuity of access to high quality primary care services for uninsured populations. Areas to be renovated include the building’s flood prone main entrance, patient waiting area, certification area where patients can determine eligibility for financial assistance, and nurses station. The facility is location in Flood Zone X (See FIRMETTE), which is classified as a moderate flood zone area and falls between the limits of a base flood and 500-year flood (FEMA, 2020). Alterations/renovations will ensure the facility can provide essential low-cost services to patients despite weather related emergencies. Broward Health was created by the Florida Legislature in 1951 and serves as the safety-net health care provider for north Broward County. Broward Health’s mission is to provide quality healthcare to the people we serve and support the needs of all physicians and employees. As one of the nation’s largest public healthcare systems, Broward Health offers a network of providers, hospitals, community agencies, and service sites that assist patients with navigating the healthcare and social service systems and provide consistent access to a continuum of care. South Florida is vulnerable to severe weather conditions, such as severe flooding, strong damaging winds, and heavy rainfall. Almost 70% of properties in Fort Lauderdale have a 26% chance of facing severe impact from flooding within the next 30 years (Risk Factor, 2023- Fort Lauderdale, Florida Flood Factor® Report | Risk Factor). Around 22% of Broward County is in a flood zone (InsuranceNewsNet.com, 2021- Flood Map Plan To Require Thousands Of Floridians To Buy Insurance - Insurance News | InsuranceNewsNet). Most recently Fort Lauderdale experienced severe flooding on April 12, 2023 when Fort Lauderdale received a total of 25.91 inches of rainfall in 24 hours, a rare 1-1000 year flood event. The Specialty Care Center was directly impacted by this flood, and as a result, essential health care services were unavailable for the two days following the storm (April 13th and 14th). All appointments were canceled and 82 patients who were scheduled for visits were unable to receive care. The facility was not fully operational again until April 17th. After this disaster, it was clear there was a need to protect the building from flood and storm damage. The main entrance of the building will be moved to the north side of the building where an impact glass door has been added. This will improve the ingress and egress during weather-related events and improve access to care for underserved populations. Reconfiguration of the main entrance and waiting room will allow for patients to continue receiving care and will ensure they experience shorter delays in accessing care in emergency situations.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).