Editor’s Note: This post is the first of NACHC’s three-part series highlighting health center readiness in response to the upcoming hurricane season. With hurricane season here Florida is bracing for the worst. The state ranks sixth in the country for most weather-related power outages over the past 20 years. Powering through weather-related disasters carries far-reaching public health considerations. Health …
Self-Measured Blood Pressure (SMBP) Devices Should be Covered by CMS as an Essential Tool for Blood Pressure Control
Elizabeth Linderbaum, MPP, NACHC Deputy Director of Regulatory Affairs, contributed to this post. Forty-five percent (45%) of health center patients suffer from hypertension, compared to 32% of the general population.1 The good news is that high blood pressure (BP) is the leading modifiable risk factor for coronary heart disease, stroke, and congestive heart failure, and …
Meeting the Health Care Needs of the Aging (and Fastest Growing) Population at Health Centers
As the U.S. population ages, accessible and quality health care is increasingly essential for staying healthy. Since they began nearly 60 years ago, health centers have provided comprehensive, affordable, and patient-centered care to people at all stages of the life cycle. Today, however, the fastest growing segment of the health center patient population are people …
The 340B Program Is a Lifeline for Patients with Diabetes
One in 10 Americans have diabetes in the United States, totaling to over 37.3 million people – a staggering statistic. For health care-related costs, patients living with diabetes spend over two times as much compared to non-diabetic patients, or around $9,600 a year. This is where the 340B drug pricing program comes to the rescue. …
Maternal Health Takes Priority at This Detroit Health Center
Note: This story was produced as part of a joint editorial initiative between NACHC and Direct Relief. By Olivia Lewis, Writer, Direct Relief DETROIT, Mich. — Jessica Jackson’s days are filled with back-to-back appointments at the Detroit-based Community Health and Social Services Center, Inc., known as CHASS. The certified nurse midwife works with expecting and …
The Official End of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
3 Years, 39 Months, 1,196 Days, 28,703 Hours. That’s how long the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) has been in effect. Can you believe it? Over three years ago today the initial COVID-19 PHE provided the first of many flexibilities to health centers to boost their response on the front lines of a new global …
The 2023 Migrant Health Awards
NACHC’s Marilynne Mikulich contributed significantly to this article. One of the highlights of the Conference for Agricultural Worker Health is the Migrant Health Awards ceremony. As Paloma Hernandez, NACHC Chair Elect of the Board and CEO of Urban Health Plan in New York, said about this year’s awardees: “In a world that is increasingly beset …
Agricultural Workers and The Health Center Movement
Note: Jennie Mclaurin, MD, MPH, is a Senior Fellow at NACHC. She served the migrant and seasonal farmworker community as an outreach worker, pediatrician, CMO and national expert for over 30 years. This post coincides with the Conference for Agricultural Worker Health which kicks off this week in Seattle, WA. “Tobacco pays my bills,” read …
Health Center Deployment of Mobile Units Advances Health Equity
For state and regional Primary Care Associations (PCAs), NACHC is fortunate to have support from the Leon Lowenstein Foundation this year in the form of grants to help PCAs build capacity for the growth and development of mobile units at health centers
Saving 340B Needs to Happen ASAP
NACHC has pushed forward to find a solution for health centers and other true safety-net providers by forming the Alliance to Save America’s 340B Program (ASAP 340B) with PhRMA, the trade association that represents drug manufacturers. With the partnership of health centers, patient advocates, community organizations, and leaders from the biopharmaceutical industry, the plan is to work with Congress to modernize and strengthen the 340B program.