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Moving Forward
Rooted in a commitment to civil rights and
social justice, the Health Center Program's
creation was a landmark event in U.S. health care.
What began with Jack Geiger and Count Gibson's
founding of the Nation's first two health centers
in 1965, has evolved into a network of more
than 1,000 Health Center Program grantees that
continue this proud tradition and today serve over
16 million people in urban and rural medically
underserved communities.
While the past 6 years have been an unprecedented
period of sustained expansion and quality
improvement for health centers, looking ahead,
there are a number of challenges for HRSA as it
continues to support and improve access to health
care services for people who are uninsured, isolated,
or medically vulnerable.
Workforce
In response to recent reports highlighting the
critical workforce needs in health centers as well as
the ongoing challenges of recruiting and retaining
high quality health care providers, HRSA is working
with a variety of local State and national partners
on shared solutions, including:
- Identifying health centers with "best in class"
workforce planning strategies and activities, including
superior hiring, retention, and training of staff
to assist other health centers in developing a more
stable, viable workforce.
- Maximizing health center linkages with the
National Health Service Corps, Area Health
Education Centers, health professions schools,
academic and professional associations, etc.
- Continuing to develop and identify resources
that can be shared with health centers to
improve workforce planning.
Health Information Technology
HRSA is working to:
- Develop a strategy and supportive policy that
leverages the power of health information
technology and telehealth to meet the needs of
people who are uninsured, underserved and/or
have special needs.
- Identify, disseminate, and provide technical
assistance to health centers and other HRSA
grantees in adopting model practices and
technologies.
- Disseminate appropriate information
technology advances, such as electronic
medical records systems or provider networks.
- Promote grantee health information technology
advances and innovations as models.
- Work collaboratively with foundations, national
organizations, the private sector, and other
government agencies to help HRSA grantees
adopt health information technology.
Emergency Management
HRSA is working to:
- Foster collaboration with key stakeholders to
ensure that health centers and other HRSA
grantees are prepared to respond and recover
from emergencies.
- Identify, disseminate, and provide technical
assistance to health centers and other HRSA
grantees related to emergency management.
Quality and Performance Measurement
A key component of the success of the Health
Center Program has been its ability to demonstrate
to payers and patients the value of care delivered
to those receiving health center services. The
expansion of the Health Center Program and the
resulting growth in the number of health center
patients and services, along with technological
advances and the development of provider incentive
programs in the private and public health sector
market, have underscored the importance of
demonstrating that health centers continue to
deliver high quality care to underserved populations.
In concert with the quality initiatives occurring
within the broader health care community, HRSA
is incorporating quality-related measures that
place greater emphasis on health outcomes and
demonstrate the value of care delivered by health
centers funded under Health Center Program.
Through the implementation of these new measures
HRSA will be able to publicly report on key
successes of the Health Center Program in providing
quality care to the underserved community.
Further, individual health centers will have
additional data to support ongoing performance
and quality improvement.
Continuing the Mission
HRSA is proud to have supported and assisted
the many dedicated health center staff, local,
State, and national partners that have made the
accomplishments highlighted in this report possible.
These organizations have not only expanded, but
strengthened the primary care base of this Nation.
As health centers face these and other new
challenges, HRSA will continue its support of this
proven model which has opened thousands of
doors to a comprehensive, high quality health care
home that is patient-driven and culturally and
community-responsive.
Health centers will be an essential part of HRSA's
mission of providing national leadership, program
resources, and services necessary to improve access
to culturally competent, quality health care to the
Nation's neediest communities.
next page > Reflections on Success: Health Center Voices
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Measuring
Health Center Performance
In 2008, health centers will begin program-wide collection of core quality of care and health outcome data in the following areas:
- Early entry to prenatal care
- Childhood immunizations
- Cancer screening
- Pap tests
- Diabetes control
- High blood pressure control
- Reductions in low birthweight
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