Community Health Centers are on the frontlines of the pandemic providing comprehensive care and helping prevent emergency rooms from becoming overwhelmed. Yet, recent actions by some drug companies threaten a federal drug discount program called 340B that is critical to health centers. Health centers, primary care associations, and pharmacists joined a recent Twitter chat co-hosted …
More Urgent Than Ever: Community Health Centers Must Prepare to Effectively Prevent and Treat Diabetes
A recent Centers for Disease Control report found that almost half of U.S. adults have at least one chronic health condition, such as diabetes, that would put them at risk for severe complications from COVID-19. Even before this pandemic raised awareness about the importance of treating and preventing chronic problems, Community Health Centers already understood the urgency. With …
New Learning Collaboratives for Health Centers: Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking
Authors: Anisa Ali, MA, Futures Without Violence; Kimberly S.G. Chang, MD, MPH, Asian Health Services Did you know that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month? We are 100% certain that every single health center cares for people who have been affected by domestic violence. Domestic violence is common: 1 in 4 women in the United …
HHS Flexibility on Pharmacists Administering Childhood Vaccines: Factors to Consider
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), vaccination rates have fallen dramatically across the United States because of the COVID pandemic, particularly for children. In an effort to reverse the trend, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced in mid-August that it would allow pharmacists to administer vaccines to …
5 Things to Know About FOM/IT 2020
NACHC’s Financial Operations Management and Information Technology conference — aka FOM/IT — will showcase practical tools, cutting edge strategies, and technologies to address financial and operational challenges of today and the future. The conference will highlight high-performing health centers that are innovating and boldly redefining what community health looks like in action and practice. Read …
Guidance from CDC on HIV Testing and PrEP During COVID-19
The CDC has issued guidance to help you ensure continued access to critical HIV testing and prevention services in the communities you serve.
How COVID-19 Has Changed the Ways Health Centers Treat Diabetes and Other Underlying Conditions
Half a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, community health centers nationwide have faced nearly every imaginable challenge in providing continuity of care for patients with underlying health conditions. Missed wellness visits and other factors are especially concerning for diabetes patients Health centers have experienced a dramatic rise in patients missing their wellness appointments and shortages …
Kimberly Chang Recognized for Turning Human Trafficking into a Frontline Health Issue
Since beginning her career as a community doctor, Kimberly S.G. Chang, MD, MPH, has been driven by the belief that human trafficking should be treated as a public health issue, not a law enforcement matter. Now Harvard University is recognizing Dr. Chang’s achievements in this area by bestowing on her the Emerging Public Health Professional …
Year of the Nurse 2020: A Conversation with Three Nurse Leaders
Three nurses. Three health centers. One conversation. Lasts week’s CHI@Home session celebrating the Year of the Nurse 2020 featured three seasoned Community Health Center nursing leaders. Together, these nurses explained how nurses should be viewed as central to the management of chronic disease, to helping patients overcome social and economic barriers to good health and …
NACHC 2020 CHI@HOME Receives Federal Updates from Top Health Officials
The COVID-19 pandemic has made a tremendous impact on everyone, including Community Health Centers. Health centers need funding to continue to meet the needs of the communities they serve but there are a host of challenges on the horizon – funding, workforce shortages, and attacks on 340B. “Health centers are on the front lines, delivering …