FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Health Access Network to Celebrate National Health
Center Week
Lincoln,
Maine
Health Access Network (HAN) will celebrate
National
Health
Center Week
2008 (August 10 – 16), a
national campaign dedicated to recognizing the service and contributions
of America’s
Community Health Centers.
The special focus for this year’s
National Health Center Week (NHCW)
is a new health center plan to create more health care homes in the
future for the medically underserved and to honor the health care
“heroes” at existing health centers today.
The health care heroes are health center professionals who have
chosen to serve in communities in need, helping to expand the reach of
primary care and preventive health services.
“Our health care
heroes at HAN work hard every day at providing people in the community a
health care home so they can stay healthy,” said Dawn Cook, CEO.
“National Health Center
Week is a time that we set aside not only to recognize
the work of health centers, but also to spread the message that
America needs to invest in an accessible and affordable community health
system that
can reduce disparities, improve health, and achieve cost savings
in health and prevention.”
The celebration
comes as health centers launch a collective effort to reach the goals of
a bold new plan called ACCESS for All America to serve 30 million people
by the year 2015. Right now
there are 56 million people—many of them with health insurance—who are
struggling without access to basic health care because of a local
shortage of primary care doctors, according to the National Association
of Community Health Centers (NACHC).
With the ACCESS plan, health centers, which now serve as the
health care home for over 17 million patients nationwide, can nearly
double their reach and bridge the widening gap between the demand for
primary health care services and available supply.
“HAN is a proud
supporter of
National
Health
Center
Week 2008 and the ACCESS
for All America plan” said Noah Nesin, M.D./Medical Director.
“Imagine the difference we can make by giving more people access
to a health care home so they can stay healthy and out of hospitals.
The payoff is lower health care costs, and healthier, more
productive communities. We are committed to doing our part in seeing
this plan become a reality in our community and state.”
There are 6,300
health center delivery sites in urban and rural communities in all 50
states and territories. Health centers save the health care system up to
$17.6 billion a year and have drawn top ratings as one of the most
highly effective federal programs by the White House Office of
Management and Budget. By
doubling the number of patients served as projected in the ACCESS plan,
health centers can generate savings as high as $40.7 billion in the next
8 years.
As part of the
week long celebration, HAN will participate in
a
nationwide campaign being launched by NACHC to boost voter registration
and civic engagement in low-income, medically underserved communities
across America.
The Community Health Vote 2008 Civic Engagement and Empowerment
campaign is the first project of its kind to focus on empowering people
in medically underserved communities through Federally Qualified
Community Health Centers (FQHCs) such as HAN.
FQHCs have credibility and trust among the people they care for,
and access to potential voters who are widely underrepresented in our
country’s electoral process.
The plan is to assist the over 1100 health centers located around
the country, in developing and implementing local programs to register
new voters with the ultimate goal of registering over 50,000 new voters
nationwide. The goals of
Community Health Vote are to increase voter and civic participation by
health center staff, board, volunteers and clients and to build and
expand the capacity of
America’s Health Centers to integrate
nonpartisan voter engagement activities into their ongoing work.
Staff will be asking patients over the age of 18 throughout the
week if they are registered voters.
If not, patients will be asked if they would like to learn more
about becoming a registered voter and be given a voter registration card
to complete upon check-in.
Patients will also be requested to provide a valid I.D. as part of the
registration process.
In
addition to participation in the Community Health Vote 2008, HAN will be
inviting community business members to a business breakfast on Thursday,
August 14th from 7:30 – 9:00 a.m. at the Timberhouse
Restaurant in Lincoln.
The purpose of the breakfast is to celebrate the economic impact
that HAN provides for our region and to introduce the HAN
Access to Healthcare for All
Campaign to local businesses and to allow them to hear first hand from
HAN representatives about the new facility being built on 175 West
Broadway in Lincoln. The
cost will be $10.00 per person and business members can R.S.V.P. to
Rachel York at 794-6700, ext. 7519 if they wish to attend.
(Region2)
