Lesson One: No Wrong Door Mary’s Center’s vaccination program didn’t have an easy start. Like the community we serve, our team was fearful and struggling in the pandemic. Suddenly, there was a vaccine that offered promise to keep us safe, but people were confused and anxious about it. It fell to us to provide information—but …
COVID’s Ravage Through Rural Georgia
The Delta Variant of the COVID-19 virus is generating a spike in infection rates and deaths across many states, a trend that the Centers for Disease Control is calling a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.” With one of the lowest vaccination rates nationwide, Georgia is especially vulnerable. That brings us to Albany Area Primary Health Care …
Audio-Only Telehealth is Crucial to Patient Health Beyond Pandemic
There is little doubt that the pandemic changed health care delivery. The question is for how long? Audio-only and virtual telehealth allowed Community Health Centers to treat many more vulnerable patients throughout the country during COVID, thanks to flexible federal and state policies that spurred the innovation. But unless lawmakers act to ensure these policies …
Where to Go for Staff and System Upgrades to Address LGBTQIA+ Health Concerns
The idea of a welcoming health practice that can address the specific needs of LGBTQIA+ patients seems simple enough, but in reality, it requires a deep level of knowledge and skill. Ask yourself: If a patient comes to your health center asking for an HIV prevention plan with prophylaxis, are your clinicians trained to respond? …
HHS Secretary Becerra Tours North Carolina Health Center
COVID-19 vaccinations and maternal health were on the mind of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, who recently toured the Goodwill campus of the Charlotte Community Health Clinic (CCHC) in North Carolina, along with U.S. Rep Alma Adams, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, and community health leaders. The importance of vaccinations …
Free to Be You and Me
How many of you grew up listening to Marlo Thomas, Alan Alda, Rosey Grier, and others singing “Free to Be, You and Me?” The songs and stories expressed the possibilities for me growing up that were not reflected nor reinforced consistently outside of my home. As I grew older, these songs were a soundtrack of …
What Makes a Health Center Clinic Welcoming for LGBTQIA+ Patients?
This experience of a welcoming and inclusive health care provider isn’t unusual. It’s happening at health centers all over the country. Here’s what they are doing.
40 Years of Progress: It’s Time to End the HIV Epidemic
We need to work to end HIV stigma and disrupt systems that divide people based on identities or HIV status. Innovative approaches, such as public-private partnerships, telemedicine, and telehealth can help us reach our goals.
Vaccinating Hundreds in Denver’s Homeless Community
This multi-prong and high-touch vaccination strategy is proving to be very effective and getting hundreds of people who are homeless, or at-risk for homelessness, vaccinated.
Expanding the COVID Workforce Through Integration of Pharmacy Teams
Photo credit: Holyoke Health Center Pharmacy vaccinates Holyoke public school staff. Clinical pharmacists at community health centers were involved in immunization efforts long before the COVID-19 pandemic, making them well-positioned to become leaders in initiatives to comprehensively protect the public from COVID-19. In response to the pandemic and the emergency need to increase the COVID-19 …