NACHC’s Work
The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) is dedicated exclusively to expanding health care to low-income and medically underserved populations through support and expansion of the Community Health Center model. NACHC is a trusted resource for all community health centers, regardless of their size, and responsive to federal, state, and local priorities.
NACHC works with a wide group of state primary care associations (PCAs), health center-controlled networks (HCCNs), and health centers to provide comprehensive primary and preventive health care services for nearly 30 million patients at 1,400 community health centers in 14,000 communities across the country.
NACHC provides a wide array of services including research and analysis, partnership building with the public and private sectors, and training and technical assistance (T/TA) to federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and non-funded look-alike (LALs) health centers nationwide, as well as to organizations that seek to enter the Health Center Program.
Center for Community Health Innovation
NACHC’s Center for Community Health Innovation was founded in 2021 to serve as a catalyst for innovation at America’s Community Health Centers and to help advance future-focused approaches that increase access to affordable, equitable, quality health care for all. The Center is guided by NACHC’s subject matter experts, as well as a 16-member Advisory Council of experts from health centers, PCAs and HCCNs.
Clinical Affairs and Care Team Support
NACHC currently partners with Primary Care Associations (PCAs), Health Center Controlled Networks (HCCNs), health centers, and other organizations to address key clinical issues facing health centers. Recent projects have been supported by the Health Resources & Services Administration’s Bureau of Primary Health Care, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the DentaQuest Foundation.
NACHC considers all clinical matters to support the nation’s Community Health Centers with:
- State-of-the art training and resources in best practices for the care team workforce
- Value transformation guidance and innovations from NACHC’s Quality Center
- Expanded efficiencies in the use of patient and care team data with clinical informatics
- Evidence-based, culturally informed, practices scaled through impactful pilot projects.
Environmental Health
Environmental issues like pollution, wildfires, extreme heat, flooding, and storms can cause adverse health outcomes that impact some communities more than others, an important issue of health equity. Community health centers are uniquely poised and have various opportunities to address environmental and climate health in their local areas. To support Community Health Centers in addressing environmental health and climate change issues, NACHC facilitates discussion, learning, and resource sharing.
Public Policy and Research
Health centers work hard every day to provide the best care for the communities they serve, and health care policies at the national, state and local levels are critical to supporting this work. NACHC’s focus is to make sure policymakers work hard as well to improve the lives of our patients through coverage and access to care, and ensuring that health centers are strong, thriving, and able to best serve their patients and communities in need.
As the national voice for health centers, NACHC promotes the mission and accomplishments of health centers and works to secure ongoing support and resources to protect and strengthen health center services and expand access to them for people and communities in need.
Quality Center
NACHC’s Quality Center advances health outcomes, patient and staff experiences, health equity, and lowers costs by working with health centers, Primary Care Associations (PCAs), Health Center Controlled Networks (HCCNs) and partners to transform care and build healthier, higher quality, health center communities.
Social Drivers of Health
Social drivers of health (SDOH) refer to the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, play, work, and age that influence a person’s health. NACHC focuses on SDOH through a range of activities, from our SDOH screening tool, PRAPARE, to training and technical assistance.
Training and Technical Assistance
NACHC’s training program strives to empower adult learners with strategies and best practices to address challenges facing today’s health centers. National training workshops are offered throughout the year. Online learning events and other educational resources are provided on an ongoing basis. NACHC has kept up with the demand in health center growth by expanding its resources for T/TA on an array of different topics impacting health centers’ day-to-day operations.
