Senate Supports National Health Center Week

On July 19, the Senate approved, by unanimous consent, a resolution (S. Res. 31) designating the week of August 7, 2005, as “National Health Center Week.”

Sponsored by Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), 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 one out of every eight uninsured individuals, one out of every nine Medicaid beneficiaries, one out of every seven people of color, and one out of every nine rural Americans, all of whom would otherwise lack access to health care;
• 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 over the past four years even as infant mortality rates across the country have risen; and
• These health centers contribute to the health and well-being of their communities by keeping children healthy and in schools, and helping adults remain productive and on the job.