NATIONAL HEALTH CENTER WEEK

Each year the second week of August is a special week dedicated to recognizing the service and contributions of Community, Migrant, Homeless and Public Housing Health Centers.

America’s Health Centers “Your Health Care Home” is the theme for 2007.  Health centers have been serving as health care homes for over 40 years, providing continuous primary and preventive care that reduces the risk of new health care problems and lowers the overall potential cost of health care. Health centers are expanding to reach more people by removing geographic, language, and cultural barriers for patients who do not have a usual source of care. This year’s emphasis on a health care home recognizes the importance of the health center mission -- to provide a health care home to all Americans in need. Currently health centers serve nearly 16 million patients nationally, while continuing to provide high quality, cost effective, accessible care as America ’s health care home. This includes 750,000 homeless people and approximately 800,000 migrant farmworkers.

Tennessee Primary Care Association members celebrate the week with a variety of activities in their local communities: open houses, health fairs, legislative visits, back to school kick-offs, etc. See the various activities planned by TPCA members below:

• Hardeman County Health Center Activities

Go to the national web site for more details about Health Center Week

at http://www.healthcenterweek.org/

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