Celebrating National Health Center Week – August 13 – 19, 2017
Follow and join the conversation with #NHCW17 and #ValueCHCs.
America’s Health Centers have been been bringing their services to all people, regardless of their ability to pay or insurance status, for over fifty years. Health Centers serve over 25 million Americans at more than 9,000 delivery sites in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and U.S. territories. One in every fifteen people living in the United States depends on health center services.
Begun as a pilot project during President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty, Health Centers continue to provide cost effective, quality care and save taxpayers millions of dollars each year thereby enjoying bipartisan support. Health Centers offer a variety of medical and behavioral services as well as dental, pharmacy and vision. In order to honor and raise awareness about the mission and accomplishments of America’s Health Centers, we celebrate National Health Center Week each August. This year the national campaign runs August 13 – 19th and the theme is “Celebrating America’s Health Centers: The Key to Healthier Communities.” Celebrate and learn more about this most valuable asset of rural and urban communities across America.
I am a Community Health Center Patient
Health Centers in Recent News
Health Centers provide a lifeline to quality care for those most in need, especially in today’s climate of uncertainty when it comes healthcare. Health Centers are facing major funding cuts while treating more patients than ever before. Dave Sanford, CEO of GraceMed Health Clinic, reminds us when Health Centers started, the success they’ve seen and what their future may be in an article for The Wichita Eagle. Rose Hoban’s article from North Carolina Health News, Community Health Centers Face Funding Cliff Unless Congress Acts Soon, illustrates for readers how community Health Centers have been caught in the middle of the ongoing ACA struggle and what they stand to lose.
Watch and Learn
For a brief overview, take a few minutes to watch these videos from the National Association of Community Health Centers (@NACHC). Learn a little bit about the history of Health Centers and some important facts and statistics about Health Centers today. For a more detailed look at the Health Center Story be sure to visit the CHC Chronicles to see how “health centers put communities first and reach beyond medicine, improving the lives of those they serve, enhancing access, reducing healthcare costs and creating sustainable impact in their communities.”
Health Centers: Paving the Road to Good Health (2015)
America’s Health Centers: An Enduring Legacy, Value for Today and Tomorrow (2015)
Take Advantage of and Share CMS Prevention Tools and Materials
An ongoing and important goal of Health Centers is to educate and inform the communities they service. One of the best ways to empower community members and improve their patients’ health is through prevention education. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (@CMSGov) offers a variety of resources focused on prevention and healthy living that can be shared with consumers, reposted online, printed or ordered.
For #NHCW17, use #Coverage2Care prevention resources and let patients know what they can do to live healthy lives https://t.co/scVFqP2kBh pic.twitter.com/TqewQa4qhF
— CMSGov (@CMSGov) August 14, 2017
