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Minnie Hamilton Health System - the place "Where Access and Quality Care Begin" for people in our community - joins the rest of America's more than 1,200 Community Health Centers in celebrating National Health Center Week 2009 (August 9-15, 2009).
The theme of the week, "Where Access and Quality Care Begin," highlights health centers' roles as "health care homes" for some 18 million people in America, providing primary and preventive care and a range of services. Minnie Hamilton serves approximately 12,000 patients in our community each year - a number that is increasing due to layoffs and cutbacks during the economic downturn. Health center patients pay on an income-based sliding fee scale; no one is turned away, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.
Minnie Hamilton Health System will be providing free blood pressure checks in front of the Dollar General Store on Thursday, August 13, 2009 from 9-12 and at Speedy Mart on Friday, August 14, 2009 from 9-12.
"Everyone should have the choice of a Community Health Center as their health care home," said Barbara Lay, CEO of Minnie Hamilton. "We provide high-quality services that emphasize primary care and wellness so that families can stay healthy and out of hospitals. National Health Center Week is a time to spread the message that we need to invest in an accessible and affordable community health system that can reduce disparities, improve health and achieve cost savings."
The spotlight comes at a time when the American Recovery or Reinvestment Act (ARRA), or the federal economic stimulus bill, has made increased access to care possible. Community Health Centers were among the first recipients of stimulus funding; $338 million in so-called Increased Demand for Services grants will enable health centers to provide quality care to an additional 2.1 million patients over the next two years.
Long-term, health centers are envisioned as a major part of the solution for providing care to the 60 million people in the United States who are - according to a report by the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) - medically disenfranchised. A health center plan called ACCESS for All America has the goal of preserving, strengthening and expanding health centers, ultimately providing affordable, high-quality care to all medically underserved.
For more information, visit www.healthcenterweek.org
The nation's network of more than 1,200 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) serves more than 18 million people through 7,000 sites located in all of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam. More information about America's Health Centers is available from the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) and the website www.nachc.com
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