In observance of Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, NACHC is conducting interviews with API leaders in the health center movement. Teresita Batayola is president and CEO of International Community Health Services (ICHS) based in Seattle, WA. Read the Q&A with Teresita Batayola.
Press Releases
Ensuring that frontline migrant and seasonal agricultural workers receive the vaccine from a trusted source who understands this community’s cultural, linguistic, and logistical challenges is a priority at Clinicas del Camino Real, Inc. Clinicas del Camino Real, Inc. serves 52,000 agricultural worker families at its 15 health centers in Ventura County, California. Learn more in our new blog.
The Conference for Agricultural Worker Health was like none other that came before it. Last year, the conference was canceled because of COVID, this year attendees experienced it virtually. This is the only conference dedicated solely to the health and well-being of America’s migratory and seasonal agricultural workers and their families, so it was important to carry on, even if folks couldn’t gather under the same roof. We hope to make this happen next year.
Front and center on the conference agenda was honoring colleagues who have advanced the health center mission and whose contributions have vastly improved the lives of America’s migrant and seasonal agricultural workers. We presented both the 2020 and 2021 awards to health centers and the men and women within their walls who inspire us with their service and compassion and lead this nation to more equitable health care. Read about the awardees.
The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), in collaboration with the Delta Center for a Thriving Safety Net (Delta Center) has received three additional years of support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to continue an initiative that builds on efforts to boost primary care and health centers. The initiative seeks to advance payment, policy, and practice change that will ultimately improve care for underserved people. To build on this work, project has awarded six grants totaling over $1.6 million to primary care and behavioral health state associations nationwide, as part of its second cohort of the State Learning & Action Collaborative. The second cohort expands the initiative’s reach to eight additional states, increasing the Delta Center’s impact. In addition, the Delta Center also awarded eight alumni grants to states that participated in the 2018–2020 cohort.
The project brings together state primary care associations (PCAs) and behavioral health state associations (BHSAs) to foster policy, payment, and practice changes that will benefit millions, including health center patients. NACHC’s other project partners include: JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI), the National Council for Behavioral Health (National Council), MacColl Center for Health Care Innovation at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (MacColl Center), and Families USA.
Selected organizations in the new cohort are:
- Alaska Primary Care Association
- Alaska Behavioral Health Association
- Association of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas, Inc.
- Bi-State Primary Care Association (New Hampshire & Vermont)
- Community Care Network of Kansas
- Community Health Center Association of Mississippi
- Louisiana Public Health Institute
- Louisiana Primary Care Association
- Mississippi Association of Community Mental Health Centers
- New Hampshire Community Behavioral Health Association
- Oklahoma Primary Care Association
- Oklahoma Behavioral Health Association
- Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers
- Rehabilitation & Community Providers Association (Pennsylvania)
Several states are focusing on broadening telehealth capabilities since the pandemic brought technology to the forefront. Other states are looking at models for integrating behavioral health and primary care in alignment with Delta Center goals. Grantees are elevating consumer voice in the design and implementation of their projects.
“NACHC is excited to continue the progress we have made to advance primary and behavioral health care in partnership with the National Council for Behavioral Health. Delta Center Phase 2 grantees will be pursuing efforts that are critical to health centers, including telehealth adoption and reimbursement, integration and support for social determinants of health in primary and behavioral health, and promoting sustainable and equitable solutions to modern health care challenges,” said Jeremy Crandall, Director of State Affairs, at NACHC.
###
In celebration of #NationalNursesMonth, we’re proud to share an awe-inspiring project our Clinical Care and Quality has been working on, compiling all of the amazing stories we gathered for the Year of the Nurse in 2020.
View the new publication: 52 Weeks In The Life Of A Community Health Center Nurse
A new stunning 86-minute documentary film explores the universality of trauma and resilience through the eyes of immigrant and refugee health care practitioners and patients and features a Community Health Center in Lowell, MA. The film intertwines the personal journeys of people who are transcending their own obstacles by healing others, spotlighting the work of Street Level Health Project and Metta Health Center (part of the Lowell Community Health Center). A new documentary looks at the relationship Watch the trailer and learn more, including how to set up a screening.