National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC)

"Primary care and health equity for all." This is NACHC's focus and mission. Earlier this week, NACHC President and CEO Kyu Rhee, MD, MPP spoke at Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers' Community Health Institute Conference about NACHC’s vision to strengthen the Health Center Movement for the future. Photo provided by: Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers

📣 Announcing THREE open positions at NACHC! 🖊️ Manager, Federal Affairs This position works closely with the Director of Federal Affairs to manage and advise on strategies to promote NACHC’s legislative agenda on Capitol Hill. The manager will play a role in advocacy on Capitol Hill at the direction of the Director and Deputy Director of Federal Affairs, engaging with legislative staff to build strong relationships and advance health center priorities and support the Federal Affairs team with policy analysis, research, casework and communications, legislative monitoring, and other key support functions. 🖊️ Manager, Mobile Health Operations and Training In this role, the manager of Mobile Health Operations and Training will provide project management, content and technical support concerning mobile health care to NACHC’s health center operations training and technical assistance (TTA) portfolio in Health Center Operations and Governance (HCOG)), Partnership, Development & Innovation (PD&I), and with other NACHC Functional Areas and/or with external organizations. 🖊️ Manager, Accreditation The Manager, Accreditation will be responsible for maintaining and expanding NACHC’s accreditation programs across multiple functional areas and our national conferences. This position will focus on continuous quality improvement, supporting the future growth plans for accredited content development, and guiding stakeholders through the accreditation process. Learn more about each position and apply today! https://lnkd.in/eAkDy-Fg #WeAreNACHC #Jobs

You know that preventive care is fundamental to the health and well-being of Americans of all ages. But did you know that most preventive services are available at no cost to patients in the US? Unfortunately, not everyone accesses preventive services at the same rate, leading to health disparities. That’s why NACHC is partnering with government, health insurance plans, and advocacy organizations to raise awareness about the importance of preventive health services and increase uptake. All Community Health Centers offer preventive services. Read the press release about the new initiative: https://lnkd.in/gSm6UqKC 📍 And share with your networks the MyHealthFinder tool -- designed to promote the full range of preventive care available to consumers and empower patients to have informed conversations with their provider teams. It also links to a directory of Community Health Centers! https://lnkd.in/eT6qt2Q #PreventiveCare #ValueCHCs #HealthEquity

Join us in welcoming Peter Shin, PhD, MPH, as NACHC's new Chief Science Officer. Dr. Shin is a distinguished health care services researcher and policy expert, with an extensive body of work highlighting the critical role community health centers play in advancing health equity and addressing health disparities. Dr. Shin will be NACHC’s first-ever CSO, and underscores NACHC’s commitment to providing research- and data-driven solutions to health challenges facing this nation. Dr. Shin will provide thought leadership and direction for vital research on how community health centers deliver on the “quintuple aim” – improve health outcomes, enhance patient experiences, elevate workforce experiences, and lower the total cost of care, with health equity at the center. Dr. Shin brings expert insights into workforce dynamics, quality of care, patient and community health, and cost effectiveness research. His ability to effectively translate research into impactful education, practice, and especially policy, as evidenced by numerous citations in research journals and by government agencies (including the Congressional Research Service, CMS, and HRSA) and in federal court documents, will be instrumental in advancing NACHC’s mission to support community health centers and the diverse populations they serve. Dr. Shin spent over three decades at George Washington University’s (GWU) Milken Institute School of Public Health. There he served as a tenured associate professor of health policy and management and was the founding Research Director of the Geiger Gibson Program in Community Health. While at GWU, Dr. Shin successfully secured tens of millions in research grants and helped launch the Geiger Gibson Program in Community Health, which established groundbreaking collaborations with health centers, Primary Care Associations, research partners, and NACHC. Dr. Shin has authored hundreds of peer-reviewed journals, blogs, government reports, and briefs on safety net financing and economic impacts, health policy, workforce, primary care integration, health information technology, and social drivers of health. Dr. Shin has many seminal works, including "Medicaid and Community Health Centers at 50: An Enduring Relationship Essential for Health System Transformation," published in Health Affairs, which underscored the urgent need for payment methods that better reward quality of care and ongoing critical funding support for community health centers to address the complex primary health care and social health needs of the communities they serve. Dr. Shin will officially join NACHC on August 16, 2024. https://lnkd.in/e6aSVkUg #WeAreNACHC #ValueCHCs

Here at NACHC, employees day in and day out work for the betterment of Community Health Centers across the country and the 30 million patients they serve. View our open positions and apply to become a part of our team!

A new study documents what Community Health Center staff see every day: More than 1 in 10 health center patients experience major social risk factors. This data also underscores why the work health centers do beyond the clinic walls to help patients overcome barriers -- like transportation, housing, and food insecurity -- that affect health and well-being is so important. "Our findings likely reflect the structural barriers to equity that many patients from marginalized populations continue to face," says study lead Dr. Kevin Nguyen, assistant professor of health law, policy & management at Boston University School of Public Health. The BUSPH study found high rates of food insecurity, housing insecurity, financial strain, and/or a lack of transportation among federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) patients. "Funding specifically allocated for integrating social risk screening, as well as community-informed processes for addressing unmet social needs, may help mitigate these barriers," Dr. Nguyen says. "National policies are shifting toward incentivizing the measurement of social risk factors, so identifying the payment and care delivery models that equip providers to sustainably address unmet social needs among patients who want assistance may be critical." More about the findings: https://lnkd.in/eirx3Frz #ValueCHCs #HealthEquity #HealthCenters

NACHC’s Environmental Health and Emergency Management teams recently visited the CrescentCare in New Orleans to host a discussion on community resilience, in partnership with the Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management (I-DIEM) and funded by the The Kresge Foundation. Representatives from CrescentCare, SWLA Center for Health Services, St. Thomas Community Health Center, Louisiana Primary Care Association (LPCA), Together New Orleans, and Greater New Orleans Foundation shared their perspectives and insights on how solar+storage could be utilized at Community Health Centers to build community resilience, developing resilience partnerships, and bolstering collaboration with Emergency Management organizations. Image (left to right) Marcus Martin, I-DIEM Taina Lopez, NACHC William Brent, SWLA Magon Jackson, LPCA Reginald Vicks, CrescentCare Asia Ognibene, Together New Orleans Gerrelda Davis, LPCA Julia Dempsey, MPH, NACHC Present but not featured in the photo: Kristina Kent, Greater New Orleans Foundation Pierre Moses, 127 Energy Robert Darrow, St Thomas CHC #ValueCHCs

Congratulations to these health centers who have achieved a new Advocacy Center of Excellence (ACE) status in June 2024! 👏 🎉 🌟Bee Busy Wellness Center (TX) 🌟Contentnea Health (NC) 🌟McKinney Medical Center, Inc. (GA) 🌟Northwest Michigan Health Services, Inc. (MI) An ACE is recognized for creating a culture of advocacy within their organization to ensure policymakers at all levels of government commit to supporting the affordable, equitable, and innovative care that health centers provide. There are three ACE designations—Bronze, Silver, and Gold—that distinguish tiered levels of consistent engagement and demonstrate an ongoing commitment to making advocacy an organizational priority.   View the list of all ACEs: https://lnkd.in/gkRYRAf7 #ValueCHCs

NACHC is thrilled to announce two well-deserved promotions: Emily Heard to Associate Vice President, Health Center Governance, and Gracy Trinoskey-Rice, to Chief of Staff (AVP)! 🌟 Emily Heard has served as Director, Health Center Governance, for nearly seven years, where she has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership and commitment to our Health Centers. Her contributions have been instrumental in positioning NACHC as an employer, provider, and partner of choice. In her new role as Associate Vice President, Health Center Governance, Emily will be responsible for the strategic direction of the Health Center Governance education program ensuring alignment with NACHC’s strategic vision and to meet the educational needs of the volunteer Boards of Directors of Health Centers across the country, including education of C-Suite Executives who report to the Health Center Board of Directors. 🌟 Gracy Trinoskey-Rice most recently served as the Special Assistant & Strategic Advisor to the CEO. Previously, she successfully served as Deputy Director for Policy Research. Gracy has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership and commitment to our health centers. Her contributions have been instrumental in positioning NACHC as an employer, provider, and partner of choice. In her new role as Chief of Staff, Gracy will provide project management for the CEO and manage key relationships and collaborations with Primary Care Associations (PCAs), Health Center Controlled Networks (HCCNs), National Training and Technical Assistance Partners (NTTAPs), and other essential NACHC “partners” across the “7 Ps” of the health system (i.e., patients, providers, payers, purchasers, policymakers, producers, and pioneers).   #WeAreNACHC #ValueCHCs

Registration is OPEN for the 2024 Community Health Institute (CHI) & EXPO on August 24-26 in Atlanta, GA. The CHI & EXPO is the premiere gathering of the nation’s Community Health Centers, the largest network of primary care providers in the nation. Against a backdrop of Medicaid redeterminations and growing competition for primary care providers and medical staff, CHI offers a space for health centers to share best practices and solutions. The CHI will also showcase how health centers are meeting challenges with innovative programs, grounded in their commitment to advance health equity for all. Register today and reserve your seat! https://lnkd.in/guNuyzFp   #CHIEXPO24