This week, Healthy Connections is celebrating National Health Center Week 2018. The event is part of a national campaign during the week of August 12-18 to raise awareness about the mission and accomplishments of America’s Health Centers and the dedicated staff who bring health care to the medically underserved.
Healthy Connections is part of a nationwide network of health centers that serve more than 27 million Americans. Health centers have compiled a significant record of success that includes:
- Producing $24 billion in annual health system savings;
- Reducing unnecessary hospitalizations and unnecessary visits to the emergency room;
- Treating patients for a fraction of the average cost of one emergency room visit;
- Maintaining patient satisfaction levels of nearly 100 percent;
- Serving more than one in six Medicaid beneficiaries for less than two percent of the national Medicaid budget;
- Lowering the cost of children’s primary care by approximately 35 percent
The heroes who work at health centers and help make affordable health care possible for people in need are at the center of this year’s NHCW. More than 205,000 people work at health centers in positions that include clinicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, dentists and dental hygienists, behavioral health specialists, and much more. Working together, these health care heroes produce innovative solutions to the most pressing health care issues in their communities. They reach beyond the walls of conventional medicine to address the factors that may cause sickness, such as lack of nutrition, mental illness, homelessness and substance use disorders. It is their work that has helped reduce health care costs and reduce chronic disease, generating a record of success and along with it a long tradition of bipartisan support in Congress.
To learn more about National Health Center Week and the listing of events please visit: www.healthcenterweek.org.