By Marisol Murphy-Ballantyne With less than 24 hours until the sequester takes effect, the clock is ticking loudly. The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) continues to urge Community Health Centers to let their Members of Congress know the effects of the sequester on the nation’s most vulnerable. The sequester is estimated to cut …
Author: Blog Poster
Study Shows Health Centers Successfully Reach Vulnerable Populations
By Marisol Murphy-Ballantyne A study released earlier this month in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, highlights the critical role Community Health Centers play in eliminating disparities in access to health care and that “[health centers] are successfully reaching vulnerable populations.” The study, Reducing Disparities in Access to Primary Care and …
Federal Grant To Fund Unique Residency Program in Underserved Communities
By Marisol Murphy Ballantyne It’s no secret that two of the nation’s pressing health care challenges are the shortage of primary care physicians trained to work with underserved populations and changes in federal funding for medical training. However, a collaborative, multi-state, centrally run effort between The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education and A.T. Still …
Headlines About the Sequester
By Amy Simmons Farber A lot of newspaper ink is being devoted to the budget sequester, scheduled to occur on March 1. As noted in NACHC’s Health Centers on the Hill Blog, the reductions will be approximately 9 percent for nondefense programs. How these cuts to government spending will affect people and communities is a …
A Health Center Leader to Receive White House Honor
By Amy Simmons Farber A health center leader is being honored by the White House this week. Mary’s Center President and CEO Maria Gomez has been selected to receive the 2012 Presidential Citizens Medal, the second highest civilian award in the United States (second only to the Presidential Medal of Freedom). President Barack Obama will …
Studies Add to the Body of Evidence about Health Centers
By Amy Simmons Farber A couple of studies recently out about Community Health Centers bear mentioning because they add to a growing body of evidence about the quality of care at health centers. The California Primary Care Association examined how Medi-Cal managed care patients who use a health center for primary care compared to non-health …
A Flu Epidemic Boosts Demand at Health Centers
By Amy Simmons Farber Influenza is packing a harder punch than anyone expected this season all over the U.S. (check out this Google map of flu trends). In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a public state of emergency because of the severe flu season (see article). And in Boston, MA, there have been over 950 confirmed cases …
Oral Health for American Indians Gets a Boost
By Amy Simmons Farber Graduates of Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ASDOH) Access to oral health care services has always been a challenge in American Indian/Native American communities. Compounding the problem is a shortage of providers willing and able to give that care. According to a fact sheet (The American Indian Health Web portal, …
A Glance Behind In a Word or Two
By Amy Simmons Farber Before we move into 2013, we’d like to reflect on a few highlights from 2012, in a word or two: “Health centers play a key role in bringing vital health care services to 20 million Americans from all walks of life. They lift up rural and urban neighborhoods alike, extending community …
Adding Up The Numbers in Health Care
By Amy Simmons Farber About 32 percent of Americans — more than 3 in 10– say they have put off health care for themselves or their family because they are worried about cost, according to a recent Gallup poll. Unfortunately, we know all too well that when these people finally do seek care, it is after their illness has progressed …