Charlie Crist Announces $13 Million in Federal Funds for Healthcare, Early Education in Pinellas County

Last week, U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., announced two grants, totaling over $13,000,000, for Evara Health, formerly Pinellas Community Health Centers, and Lutheran Services of Florida to improve access to low-cost, high-quality healthcare and support early education programs in Pinellas County.

The first grant, totaling $8,228,735, is awarded to Lutheran Services of Florida to support their Head Start early education programming for infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children from low-income families. The second grant, totaling $5,308,568, is awarded to Evara Health to support patient care and outreach to low-income and underserved Pinellas residents.

“Strengthening our healthcare and early education systems is key to improving quality of life for my neighbors in Pinellas – particularly those who are low-income and underserved,” said Crist. “I’m proud to announce that over $13 million is headed to Pinellas to improve educational outcomes for our children and make quality healthcare more accessible for all Pinellas families.”

“Evara Health is pleased to have our Section 330 Grant funding continued,” said Elodie Dorso, CEO & President of Evara Health. “This funding allows us to provide care to our current patients and to reach more patients all while responding to public health issues like we have experienced in the last few years, allowing us to create healthier communities and healthier families one patient at a time.”

As a member of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, Crist helped secure nearly $8.6 billion for the Health Resources and Services Administration, which funds public health programs like those provided by Evara Health, as well as a record funding level of $11 billion for Head Start in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022.