Racial health disparities were under the spotlight this week on Capitol Hill. Rodney B. Jones, Sr., CEO of East Liberty Health Center in Pittsburgh, PA, was among the witnesses who provided virtual testimony before the Senate Special Committee on Aging in a hearing that focused on COVID-19’s impact on racial health disparities. Jones gave a …
Author: Amy Simmons Farber
A Post from the Frontlines of COVID in Michigan
Sometimes the stories of heroism on the frontlines come at us so fast there’s not enough time to share them. This one from Cherry Health in Michigan caught our eye because it demonstrates how the COVID-19 pandemic has radically affected normal routines in health care. Meet Maria Vizcarra, a patient registration specialist at the health …
What the Numbers Tell Us About COVID Disparities
COVID-19 has cut a destructive path across along racial lines. African Americans and Latinos are bearing the brunt of this virus with higher rates of infections. Few understand this better than the people who work at Community Health Centers. Health centers care for nearly 30 million people, and many of them are essential workers in …
A Health Center Fights Two Pandemics
Even before COVID-19 arrived on America’s doorstep we were battling another health crisis — opioid use disorder. Nearly 90 percent of Community Health Centers offered behavioral health services onsite, including opioid treatment services before the massive pivot to address the pandemic began. And the grim news is that COVID may have worsened the problem of …
COVID-19 Is Not Going Away
The consensus building among health experts is that we’re going to be in pandemic mode for the foreseeable future. On Capitol Hill, top disease expert and White House advisor Anthony Fauci today told lawmakers on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that daily new cases could surpass 100,000 new infections per day if …
We Get By With A Little Help From Our Friends
Community Health Centers are a proven model of resilience in public health crises. They have battled H1N1, HIV-AIDS and even man-made disasters like the opioid addiction crisis. COVID-19 has been a challenge like no other. Early on in the global pandemic health centers were fighting the spread of the deadly virus with a dwindling arsenal …
Notes from the Hot Zone: Health Centers Launch Testing Sites at Food Processing Plants
Here’s what’s remarkable: 60 percent of Community Health Centers nationwide have drive-through or walk-up testing for COVID-19, according to a new NACHC infographic. This massive pivot to address an unprecedented pandemic has happened in a matter of weeks, a testament to the nimble powers and innovation of health centers. They can sense a need and …
Look For The Helpers
When the world feels like a different place, and there are scary headlines in the news, Mister Rogers urged us to “look for the helpers.” You don’t need to search very hard to find them at Community Health Centers. They are the providers at the drive-thru testing sites in parking lots; the Community Health Workers …
Ohio Health Center Doctor Sick With COVID-19 Soldiers On
“You still just go on,” she said, “because patients need you,” Dr. Mary Krebs tells Wall Street Journal reporter Jennifer Levitz in an article published today. Dr. Krebs is a family physician at HealthSource of Ohio, one of Ohio’s 56 Community Health Center organizations. Ohio’s Health Centers span about 400 sites and are part of a …
In These Extraordinary Times
In these extraordinary times, we are all on the frontlines of COVID-19, struggling to be our best selves while scared and worried about the future. That’s what makes the stories of innovation and courage among Community Health Centers so remarkable. They choose the mission. They choose to step into the arena of a global pandemic …