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What are CHCs?

Community health centers are non-profit, community-based organizations that provide comprehensive primary and preventive health care and social services to medically underserved individuals and families regardless of their abilities to pay. Led by community-based boards of directors, health centers strive to meet the unique health needs of their communities in linguistically and culturally competent ways.

Since the mid 1960s, when the first urban community health centers were founded, community health centers have provided essential primary and preventive medical, dental and mental health care for all those who otherwise would lack access to medical care.

What do community health centers do?

Provide Access: Health centers have become part of the fabric of their communities since the mid 1960s, providing health access to all regardless of their medical status, ability to pay, culture or ethnicity.

Promote Good Health: From the beginning, community health centers have incorporated preventive, educational, outreach, and social services into their models of primary care delivery. Striving to meet the specific health needs of their communities, health centers have developed targeted programs that include: home health, residential and day treatment programs for the elderly and disabled; substance abuse treatment and violence prevention programs; WIC nutrition programs for young mothers and their children; and AIDS/HIV services for those with, or at greatest risk of, HIV infection and AIDS. Among the many services community health centers provide or arrange for are:

Pediatrics, Family Planning, Obstetrics, Nutrition/WIC, Dental Care, Laboratory, Dermatology, Acupuncture, Elder Services, Public Health Programs, Home Care, School Based Services, Podiatry, Social Services, Mental Health, Pharmacy Services, Adult Medicine, Specialty Referrals, Family Medicine, Substance Abuse Counseling & Treatment, Gynecology, Immunizations for Children & Adults, Hospitalization and Smoking Cessation & Prevention Programs.

Support Primary Care Medical Education: Community health centers have long played a role in health professions education for a wide range of health care personnel. As the need for community-based primary care physicians intensifies, health centers are assuming more important roles in training physicians who are not only clinically, but culturally, competent.

Whom do community health centers serve?

Community health center services are available to people of all ages, regardless of financial, linguistic, cultural or geographic barriers to access. Because CHCs serve the community, they often have multilingual staff and/or interpreters available on request to ensure quality service to minority populations. CHCs serve Medicaid and Medicare recipients, low income uninsured and underinsured, high risk populations, the elderly, as well as insured persons.