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	Compassion Spotlight
	President Bush’s Community Health Center Initiative reached its goal of 1,200 new or expanded Health Center sites. A total of 15 million patients were served by Community Health Centers in 2006, an increase of more than 4.7 million from 2001. A total of 470,000 patients received mental health care, an increase of 170% from 2001.

The Need
The Response
President’s Health Centers Initiative

The Need

• For more than 40 years, federally funded Health Centers have provided quality primary health care services to medically underserved communities and vulnerable populations.
• Despite this effort and continued advances in health care and technology, many communities experience higher than average rates of infant mortality, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and cancer, and lower rates of immunizations and cancer screening.
• The causes for these disparities are complex, but two major factors are inadequate access to health care and substandard quality of care.
• Far too often, uninsured, low-income families rely on overcrowded emergency rooms to meet their basic health care needs.

The Response

In 2002, President Bush launched the President’s Community Health Center Initiative (CHCI) and pledged to create 1,200 new or expanded Health Center sites in the country’s most underserved communities to increase access to health care.

These Health Centers are community-based and consumer-run organizations that serve populations with limited access to health care. Often, they are operated by FBCOs located in the neighborhoods they serve and governed by local residents. Within this community context, Health Centers offer personalized interaction and compassionate care to every patient. In addition to providing primary care, Health Centers may provide access to pharmacy, preventive dental, mental health, prenatal care, and substance abuse services.

Through the CHCI, Federal investment in the Health Centers has nearly doubled—from slightly more than $1 billion in FY 2000 to nearly $2 billion in 2008. The CHCI strategy focuses on strengthening the capacity of existing Health Centers, promoting the growth of new Health Centers, and improving the quality of care in all Health Centers.

In FY 2007, the President announced that the CHCI exceeded the goals he set in 2000. To date, there are more than 7,000 Health Center sites across the country helping Americans most in need. The primary beneficiaries of Community Health Centers include low-income individuals (91% of patients) and minorities (64% of patients).

The presence of over 1,200 new or expanded Health Centers translates into vast increases in the number of previously underserved Americans receiving health care:

• A total of 16 million patients served in 2007—an increase of more than 4.7 million from 2001.
• A total of 2.8 million patients received dental services in 2007-more than twice as many as in 2001.
• More than 525,000 patients received mental health care in 2007-more than three times as many as in 2001.

President’s Health Centers Initiative

Number of Community Health Grants Awarded, by Activity and Fiscal Year (FY)
	FY 2002	FY 2003	FY 2004	FY 2005	FY 2006	FY 2007	Total
New Access Points	171	100	63	94	86	202*	716
Expanded Medical Capacity	131	88	66	64	36	135	520
Total	302	188	129	158	122	337	1,236
* Included are up to 80 grants for the High Poverty Counties Initiative.

Exemplary Impact
Christ Community Health Services is an example of how a new CHCI partner impacted the surrounding community. Memphis, Tennessee, has distressingly high rates of infant mortality, adult chronic disease, and avoidable deaths. From its founding in 1995 until 2003, Christ Community Health Services was a financially struggling community-based organization. It was often unable to recruit physicians and staff to the distressed neighborhood where it is located, which had no other health resources.

With support from CHCI and grants from the Bureau of Primary Health Care, Christ Community has

• expanded from two to four health center locations, and from 11 to 26 medical providers;
• been designated by the State of Tennessee as a Center of Excellence in HIV/AIDS care, making it one of only 10 in the State and only two in Memphis;
• nearly tripled the number of individuals receiving medical services, from 11,000 in 2002 to more than 32,000 patients in 2008;
• become Tennessee’s largest screening site for breast and cervical cancer among low-income, uninsured women; and 
• provided prenatal care using new models that researchers believe will make great strides in reducing low birthweight and infant mortality.

Without Christ Community Health Services in their neighborhood, most of the residents would continue to rely on hospital emergency rooms (ERs) for even their most basic health care needs, leading to further ER overcrowding. Now, thousands of low-income patients have a health care home and a place to establish a long-term relationship and receive regular preventive care—something they likely have never had access to before.

Sites where Community Health Centers were either established or expanded

For more information about the work of Christ Community Health Services, visit http://www.christcommunityhealth.org/home.htm