Events are Part of National Campaign Celebrating 50 Years of Success in Health Care Delivery
Visalia, CA – Family HealthCare Network is marking National Health Center Week 2015 (NHCW) with events in Tulare and Kings counties, as part of a weeklong campaign (August 9-15) to raise awareness about the mission and accomplishments of America’s Health Centers – the largest and most successful system of primary healthcare.
Community health centers (CHCs) started 50 years ago as a pilot project during President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty. Today, CHCs like FHCN serve more than 23 million people nationwide and have compiled a significant record of success that includes: reducing income and ethnic health disparities nationwide, even in the poorest and most challenged communities; reducing infant mortality rates; producing $24 billion in annual health system savings; and reducing unnecessary hospitalizations and unnecessary visits to the ER. Locally, FHCN serves as the health home for more than 207,000 people, accounting for 1 in 3 patients in Tulare and Kings Counties. Savings to our local health care system are an estimated $161 million annually.
“When people have a place to go for regular care, they use it and stay healthier. Family HealthCare Network and CHCs across the country provide a range of services onsite – primary care services, obstetrics, pediatrics, pharmacy, dentistry, and more. Our patients not only get the care they need under one roof, but they are treated as individuals, with dignity and respect,” stated FHCN President & CEO Kerry Hydash. “This is what health care should be, and what we celebrate during National Health Center Week.”
As part of its annual celebration, FHCN is hosting weeklong events in several of the communities it serves:
- 7 – Kick Off at Rawhide Ball Park – FHCN Health Center Night in Visalia
- 8 – CHP Car Seat Safety Check Day in Porterville
- 9 – Back to School Health Fair in Cutler/Orosi
- 10 – Nutrition & Rethink Your Drink Day at FHCN Health Centers
- 11 – Back to School Mini Health Fair in Goshen
- 12 – Health Fair at the Bethlehem Center in Visalia
- 13 – Cuadrilla Farmworker Health Screenings at to-be-determined location
- 14 – Reach Out & Read Day at FHCN Health Centers
About Family HealthCare Network:
Family HealthCare Network is a private nonprofit organization that operates federally qualified health centers. Our mission is to provide quality health care to everyone in the communities we serve. We operate 18 sites, of which 14 are community health centers located in Tulare and Kings Counties. Family HealthCare Network is recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Level 3 Patient Centered Medical Home and is dually recognized by The Joint Commission with its Gold Seal of Approval® for Patient Quality and Safety and as a Patient Centered Primary Medical Home.
For more information about Family HealthCare Network, please call 1-877-960-3426, or visit our website at www.FHCN.org, like us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/fhcn.org, or follow us on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/FHCN.
