For the last two years, NACHC’s Elevate learning forum has supported over 450 health centers nationwide in applying systems change to reduce costs, enhance patient and staff experience, improve health outcomes, and advance health equity. Learn more about Elevate and how to join the learning forum!
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Contact: Amy Simmons Farber 202 309 0338
On behalf of Community Health Centers and the 30 million people they serve, we commend the statement by Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, Director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that racism is a serious public health threat that demands national attention. We cannot agree more. Two-thirds of our patient population are racial and ethnic minorities, populations who have been disproportionally affected in the COVID-19 pandemic, suffering higher mortality rates and hospitalizations than the general population. Additionally, many health center patients are most burdened by the economic impact of COVID-19, such as loss of jobs and insurance.
As healers whose mission emerged from the Civil Rights Movement, health centers have dedicated themselves to the task of eradicating poverty, illness, hate, bias, and brutality in our communities. The challenges are daunting. We have seen firsthand the social determinants of health that have affected Indigenous and People of Color, especially Black people, in areas such as policing, education, employment, housing, safety, and access to health care. Through our work in collecting social needs data through PRAPARE, we know that beyond COVID-19, health disparities continue to plague underserved and marginalized communities because of systemic racism, whether it is maternal and childbirth outcomes, cancer, depression and other chronic disease. We cannot begin to address these problems until we recognize and address the basic inhumanities and inequities a person may suffer in their community, workplace, or home. The acknowledgment from the CDC’s leadership is an important step in addressing structural and systemic racism.
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In a new video, Community Health Center physicians from around the country reflect on their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic – a year in which the inequalities and racism in health care were glaringly exposed. Produced by the South Carolina Primary Health Care Association, this 6-minute video captures how health centers pivoted their operations quickly to respond to COVID-19 and underscores the importance of protecting yourself, family and friends by getting vaccinated.
“You have a choice, but your best choice is to take the vaccine,” says Dr. Faith Polkey of Beaufort Jasper Hampton Comprehensive Health Services in South Carolina.
Watch the video
The video features the following health center physicians:
Dr. Faith Polkey, MD, MPH – Beaufort Jasper Hampton Comprehensive Health Services, Inc.
Dr. Dan Miller, MD – Sun River Health Care, Inc.
Dr. Felix Valbuena, MD, FAAFP – The Community Health and Social Services Center, Inc.
Dr. Kim Chang, MD, MPH – Asian Health Services, Inc.
NACHC Resources on COVID-19
We were honored and excited to hear from Vice President Kamala Harris at NACHC’s 2021 Policy and Issues Forum on March 16. Vice President Harris praised health centers for all they do to provide care for their communities while at the same time easing the burden on local emergency rooms during the pandemic. Underscoring the trusted relationship health centers have with their patients, Vice President Harris said that the Biden-Harris administration views health centers as “true partners in the fight against COVID-19” and essential in ensuring an equitable response to the pandemic.
In this guest blog post, Sue Veer, CEO for Carolina Health Centers, Inc., explains the value of the 340B program to health centers and why the Trump-era executive order on insulin threatens access to life-saving medicines for health center patients. Read blog.
Contact: Amy Simmons Farber 202 309 0338
Declaring that equity is part of a core national strategy to address the COVID-19 pandemic, the White House Coronavirus Task Force today announced a program to directly allocate a limited supply of COVID-19 vaccine to select Community Health Centers starting next week. The initiative will increase access to vaccines to over 250 health centers nationwide. As supply increases, HRSA and CDC will support vaccination in additional targeted health centers. Community Health Centers, which serve 30 million people nationwide, have already started vaccinating priority populations in many states. Getting direct allocations of the vaccines will help ramp up efforts already underway on the ground to ensure minorities and special populations are protected.
To learn more about the health center COVID vaccine program, please visit this link.