National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC)

"Primary care and health equity for all." This is NACHC's focus and mission. Earlier this week, NACHC President and CEO Kyu Rhee, MD, MPP spoke at Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers' Community Health Institute Conference about NACHC’s vision to strengthen the Health Center Movement for the future. Photo provided by: Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers

NACHC is thrilled to welcome Adimika Arthur, CEO & Executive Director of Health Tech 4 Medicaid, as the keynote for our InnovationEx event on Friday, August 23 at the 2024 Community Health Institute (CHI) and Expo.. This event is free for all NACHC membership types and PCA affiliates, with separate registration required. Learn more and secure your spot at this interactive event: https://lnkd.in/evQayv4R #CHIexpo24 #Innovation

Good news! Last Friday, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSAgov), HHS announced two new Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) funding opportunities: one will support residency programs that started training residents this academic year and another will support programs that expect to start training next year. These critical funding opportunities are another step forward for health centers struggling with primary care workforce shortages: 1. Academic Year 24-25: $10 million is available for the former Teaching Health Center development grant recipients and other programs who filled positions in the 2024 match even though they had not received THCGME funding. An award will support training from August 1 to June 30th, or 11 months of the academic year. Note the short application window - the deadline to apply is September 5, 2024. 2. Academic Year 25-26: This funding opportunity is open to current Teaching Health Centers looking to grow their program and to new Teaching Health Centers. Funding will depend on congressional appropriations. Current Teaching Health Centers, accredited THC Planning and Development grant recipients, and other programs are eligible to apply. The deadline to apply is September 20, 2024. Teaching Health Centers train primary care physicians, dentists, and psychiatrists in community-based settings where care is increasingly provided. In the 2023-2024 academic year, the THCGME program supported more than 1,100 medical, dental, and psychiatry residents at more than 80 community-based residency programs in 27 states and the District of Columbia. Evidence shows that THCGME graduates are more likely to work in safety net clinics than residents who graduated from a traditional residency. Despite their record of success at training providers who continue to work in primary care and practice in rural and underserved areas, federal support for Teaching Health Centers is a vanishingly small percentage of total spending on Graduate Medical Education. In March, NACHC celebrated the passage of Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 which made a record investment in the THCGME program through December 31st, 2024. NACHC thanks all the advocates who have engaged Congress and the agency about this important program, and looks forward to working with both sides of the aisle to build on this progress at the end of the year. The notice of funding opportunities are available here: https://lnkd.in/dKEdKM6i https://lnkd.in/dXpX4aQj #ValueCHCs

🎧 Weekend listen: Hear a new interview with TCA Health Inc.- NFP CEO and NACHC Board Member, Veronica Clarke, as she shares her journey in championing community healthcare on the Illinois Primary Health Care Association podcast: https://lnkd.in/d-6SVx4E #ValueCHCs #Leadership

Our new blog details how a Community Health Center and Health Center Controlled Network -- New York’s Settlement Health and AllianceChicago -- partnered to tackle access and education challenges for patients with an outreach strategy using artificial intelligence-enabled and customized chatbots. They are using these chatbots to: • educate patients about preventive services available • invite patients to share concerns about preventive services • evaluate the social drivers of health (SDOH) that may be preventing them from getting care • connect them with scheduling services Read the blog to find out what factors made this project successful: https://lnkd.in/esNqYdj9 #ValueCHCs #AI #HealthIT

Last week, the NACHC SDOH team had the honor of visiting the Aaron E. Henry Community Health Services Center in Clarksdale MS. The passion, heart and soul of the community were felt throughout our visit. With over 160 employees who come from the community, this CHC truly embodies the spirit of working with the community to address barriers and break down silos. Seeing firsthand the dedication and commitment to creating healthier, more equitable future was inspiring! Thank you to everyone at the Aaron E. Henry Community Helath Services Center for welcoming us and for the incredible work you do every day! Together, a difference is bing made. National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) #communityhelath #SDOH #TransformativePartnerships

NACHC is excited for Mandy Cohen, MD, MPH, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to join us at the 2024 Community Health Institute (CHI) and Expo. Read the latest list of fantastic speakers we will have at CHI! https://lnkd.in/eCpe3jVY #CHIexpo24

📣 Announcing THREE open positions at NACHC! 🖊️ Manager, Federal Affairs This position works closely with the Director of Federal Affairs to manage and advise on strategies to promote NACHC’s legislative agenda on Capitol Hill. The manager will play a role in advocacy on Capitol Hill at the direction of the Director and Deputy Director of Federal Affairs, engaging with legislative staff to build strong relationships and advance health center priorities and support the Federal Affairs team with policy analysis, research, casework and communications, legislative monitoring, and other key support functions. 🖊️ Manager, Mobile Health Operations and Training In this role, the manager of Mobile Health Operations and Training will provide project management, content and technical support concerning mobile health care to NACHC’s health center operations training and technical assistance (TTA) portfolio in Health Center Operations and Governance (HCOG)), Partnership, Development & Innovation (PD&I), and with other NACHC Functional Areas and/or with external organizations. 🖊️ Manager, Accreditation The Manager, Accreditation will be responsible for maintaining and expanding NACHC’s accreditation programs across multiple functional areas and our national conferences. This position will focus on continuous quality improvement, supporting the future growth plans for accredited content development, and guiding stakeholders through the accreditation process. Learn more about each position and apply today! https://lnkd.in/eAkDy-Fg #WeAreNACHC #Jobs

You know that preventive care is fundamental to the health and well-being of Americans of all ages. But did you know that most preventive services are available at no cost to patients in the US? Unfortunately, not everyone accesses preventive services at the same rate, leading to health disparities. That’s why NACHC is partnering with government, health insurance plans, and advocacy organizations to raise awareness about the importance of preventive health services and increase uptake. All Community Health Centers offer preventive services. Read the press release about the new initiative: https://lnkd.in/gSm6UqKC 📍 And share with your networks the MyHealthFinder tool -- designed to promote the full range of preventive care available to consumers and empower patients to have informed conversations with their provider teams. It also links to a directory of Community Health Centers! https://lnkd.in/eT6qt2Q #PreventiveCare #ValueCHCs #HealthEquity

Join us in welcoming Peter Shin, PhD, MPH, as NACHC's new Chief Science Officer. Dr. Shin is a distinguished health care services researcher and policy expert, with an extensive body of work highlighting the critical role community health centers play in advancing health equity and addressing health disparities. Dr. Shin will be NACHC’s first-ever CSO, and underscores NACHC’s commitment to providing research- and data-driven solutions to health challenges facing this nation. Dr. Shin will provide thought leadership and direction for vital research on how community health centers deliver on the “quintuple aim” – improve health outcomes, enhance patient experiences, elevate workforce experiences, and lower the total cost of care, with health equity at the center. Dr. Shin brings expert insights into workforce dynamics, quality of care, patient and community health, and cost effectiveness research. His ability to effectively translate research into impactful education, practice, and especially policy, as evidenced by numerous citations in research journals and by government agencies (including the Congressional Research Service, CMS, and HRSA) and in federal court documents, will be instrumental in advancing NACHC’s mission to support community health centers and the diverse populations they serve. Dr. Shin spent over three decades at George Washington University’s (GWU) Milken Institute School of Public Health. There he served as a tenured associate professor of health policy and management and was the founding Research Director of the Geiger Gibson Program in Community Health. While at GWU, Dr. Shin successfully secured tens of millions in research grants and helped launch the Geiger Gibson Program in Community Health, which established groundbreaking collaborations with health centers, Primary Care Associations, research partners, and NACHC. Dr. Shin has authored hundreds of peer-reviewed journals, blogs, government reports, and briefs on safety net financing and economic impacts, health policy, workforce, primary care integration, health information technology, and social drivers of health. Dr. Shin has many seminal works, including "Medicaid and Community Health Centers at 50: An Enduring Relationship Essential for Health System Transformation," published in Health Affairs, which underscored the urgent need for payment methods that better reward quality of care and ongoing critical funding support for community health centers to address the complex primary health care and social health needs of the communities they serve. Dr. Shin will officially join NACHC on August 16, 2024. https://lnkd.in/e6aSVkUg #WeAreNACHC #ValueCHCs