WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, helped to secure more than $2 million in Community Project Funding to expand health care services in Rockland. Funded as one of Pingree’s 15 community projects in the Fiscal Year 2023 Appropriations Bill, Knox Clinic will use the $2,105,000 to provide primary care, dental care, and mental health care  and ultimately establish a Federally Qualified Health Center.

Funding will support renovations of an existing space and construction of new medical and dental offices.

“Everyone deserves reliable, affordable access to quality health care,” said Pingree, in a news release. “Founded, supported, and run by its community members, the Knox Clinic embodies this ideal, giving the uninsured and underinsured critical access to quality medical, dental, and mental health services. I’m thrilled I was able to secure funding for their expansion project in our Appropriations bill. As a clinic that generally relies on community donations and volunteers, this federal support will go a long way in helping the Clinic serve more Midcoast patients.”

Knox Clinic Executive Director Meredith Batley said: “The consistent and visionary work of our Congressional Delegation has resulted in this transformative allocation to the Knox Clinic. With their support, we will be able to extend the integrated health, dental, and wellness services beyond what our loyal and dedicated volunteers have provided for over 20 years, and bring these services to a broader population.” 

The Knox Clinic, currently located in Rockland, is a volunteer-based nonprofit that provides approximately 700 dental visits, 750 mental health and wellness visits, 800 medical visits, and $1.8 million worth of free medication to the community every year.

Each year, the United States Congress considers and enacts annual appropriations bills that provide the federal government with the funding it needs to operate. In 2021, the House Appropriations Committee revitalized Community Project Funding after the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress found that congressionally directed spending boosted bipartisanship, facilitated member-to-member cooperation, and gave members an equal stake in the success of appropriations bills.

For the 2023 Fiscal Year, all 15 of Pingree’s allotted projects were funded, totaling $34.5 million.  

Pingree has been a member of the House Appropriations Committee since 2013 and has served as Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies since January 2021.