Contact: Barbara Riley
Wednesday, September 3, 2008

ROCHESTER, NH – United States Senator John Sununu (R-NH) today (9/3) attended the ribbon cutting for the Thompson/Center Health Clinic in Rochester. The clinic, which is located on site at Thompson/Center Arms, was recently established for employees and their families and is staffed by a registered nurse

“Over the past few weeks, I have been visiting with health care leaders across the state talking with them about their work and enjoyed the opportunity to see first hand how Thompson/Center is helping its employees with their health care needs,” said Sununu. “Whether at a workplace clinic like Thompson/Center, a hospital, a specialized facility, a community health center, or a mobile van, health care providers deserve our thanks for their devotion to providing the best health care possible for Granite Staters. They can all be assured that I will continue to strongly support their mission.”

As part of National Health Center Week (August 10 – 16), Sununu met on August 13 with a dozen community health leaders from across the state in Franklin, and then later in the day toured a mobile van used by Portsmouth’s Families First Health and Support Center to deliver health care to the homeless. Additionally, he toured Concord’s HealthSouth Rehabilitation Center on August 15, stopped by Exeter Hospital’s medical and radiation oncology unit on August 18, visited Concord Hospital’s medical simulation lab on August 25, and toured Manchester’s healthcare for the homeless facility at Families in Transition on September 2.

Committed to the fight to make health care more affordable and accessible to all, Sununu has co-sponsored the “Making Health Care More Affordable Act” which aims to expand coverage to those who need it without jeopardizing the coverage of those who are insured today. “By providing individuals with health insurance tax credits, allowing small businesses to band together to buy plans, and encouraging high-tech efficiencies, we can expand coverage and make it more affordable to all,” Sununu said.

BACKGROUND: Senator Sununu has a lengthy record of commitment to health care policy that has earned him national recognition. Specifics about the following awards can be found on his official web site at www.sununu.senate.gov under the “Honors” section:

• National Breast Cancer Coalition “Certificate of Excellence Award.”
• National Association of Community Health Centers “2008 Superhero Award.”
• American Foundation for the Blind’s “2006 Helen Keller Achievement Award.”
• National Association of Community Health Centers “2006 Community Health Defender Award”
• Bi-State Primary Care Association’s 2005 “Champion of Community Health Centers.”
• Lighthouse International’s 2004 “Henry Grunwald Award for Public Service.”

Senator Sununu has led numerous efforts to preserve funding and capabilities of Community Health Centers.  Most recently, he:

• Obtained Senate Appropriations Committee support for $650,000 in Fiscal Year 2009 funding for Bi-State Primary Care Association in Concord to allow New Hampshire’s community health centers to provide care for uninsured and underserved patients

• Obtained Senate Appropriations Committee approval of $200,000 in Fiscal Year 2009 funding for the Manchester Community Health Center to support the relocation and expansion of the facility.

• Obtained Senate Appropriations Committee approval of $300,000 in Fiscal Year 2007 funding for Community Health Centers throughout New Hampshire to address the increasing number of patients without health insurance.

• In 2006, announced $150,000 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Rural Health Care Services Outreach Grant Program funds for Franklin’s Health First Family Care Center to train Franklin-area nurses and doctors in the development of chronic disease care management programs.

• Won U.S. Senate approval in 2005 for his amendment to increase the funding level for Community Health Centers by $50 million.

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