WORCESTER, Mass. - Nearly $1 million in federal funding will help improve health care access for Worcester’s low-income and disadvantaged communities of color.

On Thursday, congressional representative Jim McGovern announced Centro received $975,000 in federal funding. Centro will use the money to expand their use of telehealth and health information technology.

Centro said health professionals will operate a state-of-the-art, electronic health record platform allowing real-time connectivity and collaboration with acute-care providers who monitor and support home-based patients.

“There are people who just are afraid to go places, but their health condition continues to deteriorate if they are not being served by a doctor or medical professional. And so by way of telehealth, we’re going to be able to reach a lot more people,” Dr. Juan A. Gomez, Centro president and CEO, said. “I also want to thank every single one of the people who work at Centro, who have worked at Centro at one point or another. They are the ones who do the work.”

Centro is the largest minority-led, community based, multi-service, multicultural, multilingual, nonprofit organization in central Massachusetts.