Celebrating National Health Center Week

National Health Center Week (NHCW) is a celebration set to raise awareness of the accomplishments and missions of local health centers. This National Health Center Week is taking place from August 7 to August 13, 2022.

Health centers are community-based and patient-directed organizations that deliver comprehensive, culturally competent, high-quality primary health care services to the nation’s most vulnerable individuals and families (National Health Center Week, 2022a). Health centers often integrate pharmacy, behavioral health, medical, and dental services into areas with high barriers to access of care. These can include economic factors such as low incomes, geographic factors such as lack of transportation or available open roads, linguistic factors such as language barriers, or cultural factors such as religion. It is the goal of health centers to reduce health disparities across their patient populations. NEW Health is proud to take part in National Health Center Week and celebrate our hard-working staff, dedication to our patients, and contributions to our community!

In 1914, the first district health center was created in New York City; this led to healthcare expansion and eventually the creation of the Judson Health Center in 1921, which was the largest health center to date (National Health Center Week, 2022b). The first community health center in the United States was created in 1965 in Dorchester, MA, and was named Columbia Point Health Center (National Health Center Week, 2022b). This health center was created to provide quality preventative and primary healthcare for those who did not have access to health care elsewhere, effectively supporting individuals without health insurance, individuals unable to afford services, and individuals who faced ethnic and racial health disparities. From there, the community health center movement has spread across the nation to provide services to all our community members.

National Health Center Week has now been celebrated for almost 30 years, highlighting the important work being done by community health centers around the nation. Today, there are over 1,400 active community health centers providing care to 28 million Americans (What is a Community Health Center, 2019). Community health centers, including NEW Health’s clinics, have been a key component in providing health services to those medically underserved. National Health Center Week works to celebrate these health centers and their accomplishments.

National Health Center Week has focus days to promote specific attributes of community health centers. Let’s look at what NHCW has planned:

Sunday – Public Health in Housing

Monday – Healthcare for the Homeless

Tuesday – Agricultural Worker Health Center

Wednesday – Patient Appreciation

Thursday – Stakeholder Appreciation

Friday – Health Center Staff Appreciation

Saturday – Children’s Health

There are several ways you can support your local community health center! Donations help NEW Health and other health centers continue to provide vital care to everyone in our communities. Support from elected officials is also an important factor in accessing government funding for our health centers; voting for elected officials who advocate for that funding is critical to our success. Lastly, you can support NEW Health and the community health center movement by assessing your own health, getting wellness checks, and developing healthy habits! If you are struggling with your health or have not been seen recently, call NEW Health today at (509) 935-6004.

Sources:

National Health Center Week: August 7-13, 2022. Census.gov. (2022a, August 1). Retrieved August 9, 2022, from https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/health-center-week.html

National Health Center Week. National Today. (2022b). Retrieved August 9, 2022, from https://nationaltoday.com/national-health-center-week/

What is a Community Health Center? Alameda Health Consortium. (2019, May 10). Retrieved August 9, 2022, from https://www.alamedahealthconsortium.org/community-health-center/#:~:text=Today%2C%20more%20than%201%2C400%20community,people%20throughout%20the%20United%20States.