*Originally posted 08/10/15
This week is National Health Center Week. With the state of the American Health Care System, it is vital that we celebrate and help make others aware of what a wonderful resource community Health Centers can be. According to the Health Resources Services Administration, Community Health Centers have been around for over 45 years. During this time, they have been working tirelessly to deliver “high-quality preventative and primary health care to patients regardless of their ability to pay”.
These Health Centers are so important, especially as we implement the Affordable Care Act. They cover some very serious gaps in access to health care, specifically in regards to people who are typically underserved and medically vulnerable. What’s really neat about Community Health Centers, is that they are operated at the local level, not the state or national level. This means they know the community they serve and can work to best address the needs of their individual community. According to the National Health Center Week website, these Health Centers “Serve over 23 million Americans at more than 9,200 delivery sites in all 50 states. . . One in every fifteen people living in the United States depends on their services.”
That’s 23 million reasons to celebrate. Twenty three million men, women, and children are getting access to services like:
- Men’s health services
- HIV/AIDS/STD testing and prevention
- Tuberculosis screening and treatment
- Disease investigation/epidemiology
- Laboratory services
- Selected childhood and travel immunizations
- Family planning
- Dental services
- Emergency preparedness
- A wide array of Health Education
If you’re in the Houston area, you should check out what the Houston Department of Health is doing to celebrate National Health Center Week. If you aren’t from Houston, reach out to your local Health Center and see how you can get involved and learn more.
