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Gov. Kay Ivey announced Thursday that she has awarded a $400,000 grant to help Chambers County continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and prevent further spread of the virus in the county.

The grant will help fund the OnMed telehealth project that is currently being developed by Chambers County, City of LaFayette and Auburn University Outreach.

The Rural Health Project will utilize a kiosk developed by Tampa, Florida-based OnMed to provide much needed health services to the residents of LaFayette.

The kiosk will allow residents to go in and have vital signs taken, talk to a physician virtually and provide the patient with a prescription that they can get filled at their pharmacy of choice.

The kiosk will be located at 410 9th Ave SW, next to the Chambers County Department of Human Services office.

Cost said although the main function of the facility will be to host the OnMed kiosk, it is much more than that.

“What we are doing is we’re not only going to have the kiosk located in the big foyer area of the building, but then our nursing programs, our kinesiology program, our pharmacy program, a lot of different educational programs throughout the university will be also providing services to community members in LaFayette,” Cost said in a previous interview. “So, it’s more than just let’s get you checked out and see if you have poison ivy and give you a prescription. A lot of health education will come about because of this, we’re looking at having health fairs and working with the school system. So, it’s a lot more than just a small medical unit.”

The grant, along with funds from the City of LaFayette and Auburn University will fully fund this project — no county match is required.

The award is part of $40 million allocated to Alabama under a special Community Development Block Grant program funded from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

“This grant will help Chambers County leaders take the necessary steps to help put COVID-19 in the past,” Ivey said. “I commend county and city officials for working together for the health and safety of their residents.”

The funds were made available to the state by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Alabama counties and entitlement communities receiving the CDBG-COVID funds were required to make an application with the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.

“ADECA is pleased to partner with Gov. Ivey in awarding these funds that I am certain will greatly benefit the residents of Chambers County,” ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said.

ADECA administers an array of programs supporting law enforcement and traffic safety, economic development, energy conservation, water resource management and recreation development.