Hidalgo County has identified the areas of focus for federal funding acquired from the American Rescue Plan, with millions of dollars of investment going into a number of projects aimed to improve the public’s health.

During a presentation on Tuesday, county officials introduced an expansive plan aimed toward investing millions of federal dollars into the county.

As a result of the $1.9 trillion package that was passed in March 2021, more than $212 million was set aside for Hidalgo County. It’s unclear how much money has already been spent by the county, but the coronavirus local fiscal recovery funds will be addressing the following categories:

• • Public health
• • COVID-19 mitigation
• • Socioeconomic disparities

“We want to make sure that we are preventing chronic conditions, so that we can improve the overall health of the population,” said ARPA program manager Diana Huallpa.

A broad range of projects are already underway, including making large-scale renovations to county clinics.

“There will be improvements to the overall clinic to make sure that when the patients go to the clinic, they have all the necessary resources, they also have all the necessary space,” Huallpa said. “We want to make sure that we also have some prevention programs.”

While a timetable for all of this is something that is still being worked on, Huallpa says the pandemic only magnified the challenges associated with the public’s health.

You can check the county’s progress at https://www.hidalgocountyarpa.com.

According to news release from Hidalgo County, the funds must be committed by Dec. 31st, 2024 and entirely spent by Dec. 31, 2026.