House Supports National Health Center Week

On July 12, the House approved, by voice vote, a resolution (H. Res. 646) designating the week of August 8 through August 14, 2004, as “National Health Center Week.” The Senate approved an identical resolution (S. Res. 357) on July 6 (see The Source, 7/9/04).

Sponsored by Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), the resolution contains a number of findings, including:

• Community, migrant, public housing, and homeless health centers are nonprofit, community-owned and operated health providers, and are vital to the nation’s communities;
• These health centers have provided cost-effective, high-quality health care to the nation’s poor and medically underserved, including the working poor, the uninsured, and many high-risk and vulnerable populations;
• These health centers provide care to individuals in the United States who would otherwise lack access to health care, including one out of every eight individuals, one out of every nine Medicaid beneficiaries, one out of every seven people of color, and one out of every nine rural Americans;
• These health centers increase the use of preventive health services such as immunizations, pap smears, mammograms, and glaucoma screenings;
• In communities served by these health centers, infant mortality rates have been reduced between 10 and 40 percent; and
• These health centers contribute to the health and well-being of their communities by keeping children healthy and in school, and helping adults remain productive and on the job.

Rep. Davis said that community health centers “meet escalating health needs and assist in reducing health disparities as they provide high levels of quality care. With the weakened economy and unemployment reaching its highest point in almost a decade, our Nation’s health centers are feeling and will continue to feel the brunt of [an] increasing volume of patients, especially the uninsured. So by establishing a week to raise awareness of community health centers, we will also be highlighting each year the great accomplishments these nonprofit community-owned and -operated health providers offer to many communities throughout the Nation.”

Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI) agreed. “The great Americans that work at these centers serve the unfortunate and, as the resolution states, their service acts as a vital safety net in the Nation’s health delivery system. Their work is so very important to the welfare of many, many men, women and children who have a variety of health and wellness needs.”