PCHS becomes a National Health Center Advocate

Health Center advocacy provides access to programs and tools to build relationships with health center advocates, staff, board members, elected officials, and other stakeholders. The goal is to build a multi-generational group of leaders committed to ensuring access to affordable, equitable care in medically underserved communities. These leaders are focused on what health centers need to survive and thrive. Every voice matters. The Health Center Advocacy Network is a robust network of over 100,000 Community Health Center Advocates across the nation. The primary purpose of the Health Center Advocacy Network is to support and advance leaders throughout the Community Health Center Movement by equipping people with the power (story and strategy) to create change.

Community Health Centers are health care homes that make up the backbone of our nation’s primary care system. Community, Migrant, Homeless, and Public Housing Health Centers, also known as Federally-Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), and provide comprehensive care to over 30 million patients at 14,500 service delivery sites in every state and territory. Health centers across the country, like Peninsula Community Health Services, provide access to basic health care services in the communities that need them most. Our doors are open to everyone – families and children, homeless, and those who are uninsured, on Medicaid, or have private insurance. We provide much needed primary and preventive health care services. Health centers are not only the provider of choice for millions of patients, but they are also cost-effective. Investing in health centers has been shown to save the health care system nearly $24 billion annually in reduced emergency, hospital, and specialty care costs, and yet health centers still perform just as well or better than other health care providers on 94% of quality measures.