CHCs Celebrate 50 Years

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Community Health Center (CHC) movement nationally. This means that CHCs are officially recognized to provide integrated and comprehensive primary care that includes medical, dental, and behavioral health services to people all around the Country.  In Colorado, CHCs have existed longer than 50 years, as the federal designation is now 50 years old.

It is amazing how a group of primary care clinics can have so much impact! Take some time to read about the amazing work CHCs have done and continue to do to ensure people have access to comprehensive medical, dental and behavioral health services both in Colorado and Nationally. The CHCs’ commitment to the communities they serve is evidenced in the following articles.

  • FIGHTING ILLNESS AND HUNGER FOR 50 YEARS showcases how CHCs work within their communities to ensure people are fed and have access to nutritious food.
  • WORKING TOWARDS EQUALITY IN HEALTHCARE explains that by recognizing that each community is one of a kind and has its own set of social determinants of health to contend with, health centers work not just for the community they serve, but alongside it.
  • CELEBRATING 50 YEARS offers an in-depth look at the history of the CHC movement and the many ways CHCs have impacted their individual communities.

 

Among those CHCs who have been around for many years, it is important to welcome the new CHCs, recently awarded a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) designation through the United States Health Services and Resources Administration. In Colorado, three primary care community health centers received new designations.

  • Summit Community Care Clinic (the Care Clinic) is the only safety net provider in Summit County. The Care Clinic plans to expand access to care in Summit and surrounding counties.
  • Axis Health System plans to use the new grant to support the development of the CHC model at its clinic in Cortez, CO in Montezuma County.
  • Marillac Clinic which is located in Grand Junction will expand care for as many as 12,600 patients, up from 7,600.

 

It is a great time of growth as well as innovations for CHCs!

Are you interested in a mission driven career that helps make a difference in patients’ lives? Check out the Mission Driven Careers Job Board or the CHAMPS Job Opportunity Bank for more information about how to join a team at a Colorado CHC. To learn more about Colorado’s CHCs and other great work they are doing, visit CCHN’s website.

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