BETHESDA, MD—The White House has issued a Presidential Proclamation honoring National Health Center Week 2023 (NHCW). The national celebration runs August 6th through the 12th and includes a host of events that highlight Community Health Centers’ record of success and their longstanding bipartisan support.
“Every year, our Nation’s nearly 1,400 federally funded community health centers provide critical, accessible, and affordable medical, dental, and behavioral health care to over 30 million Americans,” states the Proclamation, signed by President Joe Biden. “Spread across every State and territory, these vital health care centers help make real the promise that health care in this country should be a right, not a privilege. During National Health Center Week, we celebrate their dedicated staff and recommit to providing the resources these vital centers need to continue protecting the well-being of the American people.”
“Time and again, evidence reveals that health centers make a powerful difference in the communities they serve. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, community health centers distributed over 20 million vaccines — nearly 70 percent of which went to people of color and more than 20 percent to those who lived in rural areas. In these ways, they help bridge a critical gap in access to lifesaving prevention and treatment. And because of their patient-majority governing board structure, health centers ensure that their mission and decision-making are informed not only by medical experts but, principally, by the people they serve…. These investments are a matter of human dignity and fairness. When we fail to invest in the health outcomes of some communities, we all suffer. But when we take the necessary actions to improve care in every zip code, we are all better for it.”
Read the full text of the White House Proclamation. NHCW officially kicks off next week, with more than 800 events scheduled across the country, including visits by bipartisan Members of Congress to health centers in their districts.