Community Health Centers Report Record Growth in Patients to 32.5 million

CONTACT: Amy Simmons Farber 202 309-0338

BETHESDA, MD - Community Health Centers serve a record 32.5 million people nationwide, or 1 in 10 Americans - a surge of nearly 1 million patients. The analysis, from the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) ¹, underscores the growing demand for affordable primary care services at a time when over 100 million Americans struggle to access a primary care provider.

The NACHC analysis comes as the nation kicks off National Health Center Week (NHCW). The national campaign runs August 4-10 with over 700 events scheduled from coast to coast to celebrate health centers' record of accomplishment in saving lives and tax dollars.

A Presidential Proclamation was also issued to mark NHCW:

"Community health centers play a key role in making sure health care is a right in this country, not a privilege - that is why my Administration is investing in them at a historic rate.  My Budget would put the Health Center Program on a pathway to double in size.  We have also delivered funding for community health centers to expand critical services, including substance use disorder treatments, behavioral health care, pregnancy-related care, and preventative cancer screenings," said President Biden.

This year's NHCW celebration focuses on "Powering Communities Through Caring Connections" through a host of scheduled events that include resource fairs, back-to-school drives, health screenings, and visits to health centers by bipartisan national, state and local leaders.

"Community Health Centers serve as the provider of choice for primary care for 32.5 million or 1 in 10 people across our nation," said Kyu Rhee, MD, MPP, President and CEO of NACHC. "They deliver high quality, team-based, comprehensive health services that integrate medical, mental, oral, pharmacy, social, and specialty care within and beyond our exam room walls in rural, frontier, urban, suburban, and island communities in over 15K locations. As a primary care physician and former National Health Service Corps Scholar, I have witnessed firsthand how they prevent acute and chronic disease, deliver essential jobs, reduce overall healthcare costs, save our nation billions of dollars, and advance health equity for families and communities in need. During this annual National Health Center Week and with gratitude to the White House and bipartisan members of Congress for their recognition of health centers' critical value, we celebrate health centers as not only the largest primary care network across our country, but also the best, most innovative, most diverse, and most resilient part of our health system."

To learn more about the mission and accomplishments of health centers, visit www.nachc.org. You can learn more about NHCW and view a listing of events at www.healthcenterweek.org and follow the campaign hashtag #NHCW24  for social media updates.

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¹ NACHC includes community health centers that are funded under Section 330 and look-alike community health centers in these calculations. HRSA reporting may vary due to the inclusion of 330-funded health centers only.

NACHC is the leading innovative change agent collaborating with affiliates and partners to advance Community Health Centers as the foundation of an equitable health care system free from disparities, and built on accessible, patient-governed, high-quality, integrated primary care.

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