Monday, May 12, 2025
5/12/2025
Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending - Construction - Organization Name: Town of Islesboro Project Type: Alteration/Renovation of an Existing Facility Project Name: Equipment and Furnishings for Islesboro Health Center The Islesboro Health Center (IHC) proposes renovating the interior clinical and office spaces of its building. The site will also be altered to build a solar photovoltaic (PV) array and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, both to service the IHC. The funding request is $845,000. Procurement of the proposed furnishings, fixtures, and equipment (FFE) may start in Fall 2024, and installation of the interior alterations will begin in May 2025, when the standalone Health Center building enters operation. The proposed project will replace and add to the existing clinical and non-clinical FFE from the old health center in the Municipal Building, which the IHC planned to transfer to the standalone building to continue its current operations. The IHC is a designated Rural Health Clinic on Islesboro, an unbridged and medically underserved island in midcoast Maine, with a population of 600 year-round and over 2000 residents in the summer. This modernization project will enable the IHC to offer improved services and facilities to Islesboro’s residents and visitors, including the island’s large elderly population and under/uninsured workforce members and families. The proposed medical equipment replacements and additions include lab analyzers, monitoring systems, dental equipment, exam tables, workstations, and telehealth equipment. Rapid testing equipment will enable healthcare providers to do lab analysis on-site, resulting in lower-cost testing, fewer costly trips to the mainland for patients, and more efficient development of care plans. The grant will help replace and add modern exam tables, a defibrillator, monitors, and other coordinated clinical equipment to the exam rooms and critical care. Movable monitoring systems will include portable digital vital signs monitors, dedicated glucose and blood pressure monitoring, ECG, and lung function testing. The IHC will also improve on-island access to low-cost dental care by procuring movable dental equipment and a wall-mount digital X-ray. Portable telemedicine stations will support patient care in the IHC, as well as enhancing providers’ capabilities during home visits and ambulance calls. These clinical equipment upgrades will also improve the island’s preparedness for extreme weather events and transport disruptions, which are more frequently reducing residents’ access to mainland emergency services and routine medical care. The proposed interior upgrades will modernize the building’s furnishings, storage, and information technology (IT) equipment. Up-to-date and coordinated cabinetry will improve the functionality of exam rooms, critical care, pharmacy, the multi-purpose room, and the laboratory space. Old furniture for the waiting room, offices, staff/meeting room, will be replaced and augmented with new furniture and more ergonomic office chairs for staff. Old IT equipment, including computers, workstations, and phones, will be replaced to improve operations. The staff/meeting room will get videoconferencing equipment for training and meetings with mainland providers. The project also proposes improvements to energy sources and systems. Electric baseboards will provide a safe backup heating system. IHC staff and patients will gain access to two on-site EV chargers. A ground-mount solar array behind the IHC will directly service the health center, enabling the Town to lower utility costs for taxpayers, by covering the IHC’s yearly electricity consumption, and to provide clean power to the fully electric building.
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).