HomeMy WebLinkAboutNational Health Center Week_08.2013
PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, America’s community health centers are at the core of our health care system and the nation’s safety
net, delivering high quality, cost effective and accessible primary and preventative care to all individuals regardless of
their ability to pay; and
WHEREAS, health centers are located in medically underserved areas and locally-controlled by patient-majority
boards, making each health center responsive to the needs of the individual community it serves; and
WHEREAS, currently there are more than 1,200 health centers serving as health homes for more than 22 million
individuals at more than 9,000 locations across the country; and
WHEREAS, health centers offer patient-focused, coordinated health care – preventative and primary care that
families and individuals need, where and when they need it; and
WHEREAS, health centers employ more than 9,500 physicians and more than 6,300 nurse practitioners, physician
assistants, and certified nurse midwives, along with social workers, case managers and community health workers, as
part of a multi-disciplinary clinical team designed to treat the whole patient, coordinating care and managing chronic
disease, at the same time reducing unnecessary, avoidable and wasteful use of health resources;
WHEREAS, this health home model that health centers are at the fore of pioneering goes beyond primary medical
care, providing behavioral health and dental services, along with case management and enabling services that ensure
that care is provided in an efficient and timely manner; and
WHEREAS, the health center model has been proven to be an effective means of overcoming barriers to access for
the medically underserved and in doing so, improving health care outcomes and reducing health care costs; and
WHEREAS, this unique model allows health centers to save the entire health system approximately $24 billion
annually by keeping patients out of costlier health care settings, such as emergency rooms; and
WHEREAS, locally owned and operated small businesses, health centers also serve as critical economic engines
helping to power local economies. In these difficult economic times, health centers are economic drivers in their
communities. In 2009 alone, health centers generated $20 billion in combined economic impact and were responsible
for nearly 200,000 jobs in areas hit hardest by the recession; and
WHEREAS, this year, over 400 communities nationwide submitted applications seeking a health center, for an
anticipated 25 awards, again demonstrating an overwhelming demand for access to comprehensive primary care
across the nation.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE GARVER, Mayor of the City of Georgetown, do hereby proclaim August 11
through August 17, 2013 as NATIONAL HEALTH CARE CENTER WEEK. I encourage every Georgetown resident to
visit their local health care center and celebrate the important partnership between America’s Health Centers and the
communities they serve.