WHEREAS, for over 50 years, community health centers have provided high-quality, affordable health care in our nation’s underserved communities, demonstrating that locally- governed health care can improve lives while lowering costs; and
WHEREAS, community health centers are controlled by patient-majority boards, ensuring that each center is responsive to the needs of the specific community it serves; and
WHEREAS, in Alaska, 27 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) and one FQHC Look-Alike operate over 160 clinics that serve over 112,000 Alaskans and employ 2,301 people in Alaska; and
WHEREAS, community health centers are an integral component of Alaska’s COVID-19 response effort, with all 27 health centers conducting COVID-19 testing, delivering telehealth services, and providing primary care to patients affected by the pandemic, and
WHEREAS, the community health center model is an effective means of reducing health care disparities and overcoming barriers to heath care access, and in doing so, improves health care outcomes and reduces health care system costs; and
WHEREAS, community health centers save the U.S. health system approximately $523 million annually by managing chronic conditions and keeping patients out of costlier health care settings.
NOW THEREFORE, I, Mike Dunleavy, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF ALASKA, do hereby proclaim August 9 – 15, 2020 as:
Community Health Center Week
in Alaska, and encourage all Alaskans to take advantage of the services provided by their local community health center and to recognize the important partnership between community health centers and the communities they serve.
