2023 Senate Resolution 65

Whereas, For over 50 years, community health centers have provided high-quality, affordable, comprehensive, primary and preventive health care in our nation’s underserved communities, delivering value to, and having a significant impact on, America’s health care system; and

Whereas, As the country’s largest primary care network, community health centers are the health care home for 30 million Americans in over 14,000 communities across the nation. One in every eleven people in the United States gets their care in a community health center; and

Whereas, Community health centers are a critical element of the health system, serving both rural and urban communities. They often provide the only accessible and dependable source of primary care in their communities. Nationwide, community health centers serve one in every five residents of rural areas; and

Whereas, Community health centers serve as beacons of essential resources and support in the face of disasters and pandemics. They continue to respond quickly to care for America’s most vulnerable and underserved communities. To date, health centers have administered over 22 million COVID-19 tests and over 24 million vaccines; and

Whereas, Every day, community health centers develop new approaches to the integration of a wide range of services beyond primary care including oral health, vision, behavioral health, and pharmacy services in order to meet the needs and challenges of their communities; and

Whereas, In the last decade, health centers have more than doubled their behavioral health workforce to meet Americans’ growing need for behavioral health services; and

Whereas, Community health centers are governed by patient-majority boards, ensuring that the patients of each health center are engaged in their own health care decisions; and

Whereas, They are locally owned and operated small businesses that serve as critical economic engines, helping to power local economies by generating $85 billion in economic activity in some of the country’s most economically-deprived communities; and

Whereas, Nationally, community health centers support more than 500,000 direct and indirect jobs, including physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, licensed family therapists, and certified nurse-midwives who work as part of multi-disciplinary clinical teams designed to treat the whole patient; and

Whereas, The community health center model continues to prove as an effective means of overcoming barriers to healthcare access, including geography, income and insurance status, the improvement of health care outcomes, and a reduction in health care system costs; and

Whereas, Community health centers reduce overall costs of care by helping manage chronic conditions, keeping patients out of costlier health care settings like hospital emergency rooms; and

Whereas, Being on the front lines of emerging health care crises, community health centers provide access to care for our nation’s veterans, addressing the opioid epidemic, and responding to public health threats in the wake of natural disasters; and

Whereas, Almost 500 health centers operate close to 1,000 mobile units, providing health services in over hundreds of rural and urban communities; and

Whereas, National Health Center Week offers the opportunity to celebrate over 1,400 health center organizations in the United States with over 14,000 service delivery sites, along with their dedicated staff, board members, patients, and those responsible for their continued success and growth; and

Whereas, During National Health Center Week, we honor the legacy of America’s community health centers and their vital role in shaping the past, present, and future of our health care system; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate, That the members of this legislative body recognize August 6-12, 2023, as National Health Center Week. We encourage all Americans to participate by visiting their local health center and celebrate the important partnership between America’s community health centers and the communities they serve.