City and County proclaim National Health Center Week
The following is a proclamation read into the record by both Sulphur Springs Mayor John Sellers and Hopkins County Judge Robert Newsom proclaiming National Health Center Week August 8-14, 2021.
Whereas: For over 50 years, Community Health Centers have provided high-quality, affordable, comprehensive primary and preventive health care in our nation’s underserved communities, delivering value to, and having a significant impact on America’s health care system.
Whereas: As the country’s largest primary care network, Community Health Centers are the health care home for 30 million Americans in over 14,000 communities across the nation. One in every twelve people in the United States gets their care in a Community Health Center.
Whereas: Community Health Centers are a critical element of the health system, serving both rural and urban communities, and often providing the only accessible and dependable source of primary care in their communities.
Whereas: Every day, Community Health Centers develop new approaches to integrating a wide range of services beyond primary care, including oral health, behavioral health, and pharmacy services, to meet the needs and challenges of their communities.
Whereas: Community Health Centers are governed by patient-majority boards, ensuring that the patients of each health center are engaged in their own health care decisions.
Whereas: Community Health Centers are locally owned and operated small businesses that serve as critical economic engines, helping to power local economies by generating $63.4 billion in economic activity in some of the country’s most economically deprived communities.
Whereas: Community Health Centers reduce overall costs of care by helping manage patients’ chronic conditions, which keeps them out of costlier health care settings like hospital emergency rooms.
Whereas: Community Health Centers are on the front lines of emerging health care crises, providing access to care for our nation’s veterans, addressing the opioid epidemic, and responding to public health threats, including COVID-19.
Whereas: During National Health Center Week, we celebrate the legacy of America’s Community Health Centers, and their vital role in shaping the past, present, and future of America’s health care system.
Now, therefore, I ( John A. Sellers/ Robert Newsom), by virtue of the authority vested in me as (Mayor/ County Judge) and on behalf of the (City Council of the City of Sulphur Springs/ Commissioners Court of Hopkins County)
do hereby proclaim August 8-14, 2021, as National Health Center Week. I encourage all Americans to take part in this week by visiting their local Health Center and celebrating the important partnership between America’s Community Health Centers and the communities they serve.
