WHEREAS, Community clinics and health centers are at the core of the nation’s health care safety net, serving anyone and everyone who walks through their doors, regardless of ability to pay, and are the medical homes for more than 23 million needy and uninsured patients; and

WHEREAS, According to multiple government, academic, and private studies, community clinics and health centers have proven to be the most cost-effective health care providers in the field, saving nearly $24 billion annually by keeping patients out of costlier health care settings, such as emergency rooms; and

WHEREAS, Community clinics and health centers are private, nonprofit corporations. The majority of their boards of directors, by law, must be their patients and consumers, and their services are funded primarily through public programs such as Medicaid, federal grants, and state initiatives; and

WHEREAS, Community clinics and health centers employ more than 11,300 physicians and 8,400 nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and certified nurse midwives as part of a multidisciplinary clinical team designed to treat the whole patient by coordinating care and managing chronic disease, while at the same time reducing unnecessary, avoidable, and wasteful use of health resources; and

WHEREAS, Community clinics and health centers in California and throughout the nation have led the movement for a fair and equitable health care system, treating medically underserved populations in medically underserved areas by reaching into the inner city and the most rural and geographically isolated communities; and

WHEREAS, In California, more than five million low-income families, children, seniors, women, non-English speakers, people of color, and homeless individuals currently receive comprehensive primary care services at nearly 1,000 community clinics and health centers throughout the state; and

WHEREAS, Primary care at California community clinics and health centers involves a wide range of services, including preventive care, chronic disease management, well child, dental, pharmaceutical, immunization, mental health, substance abuse, breast cancer, nutrition, family planning, and pregnancy-related services, all of which are provided with particular sensitivity to language and cultural competency; and

WHEREAS, California’s community clinics and health centers have the major responsibility to provide health care services to the state’s most disadvantaged families and individuals, are at the forefront in implementing the national Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and are serving the over three million Californians newly enrolled in Medi-Cal and Covered California under the act, as well as the two million to three million persons who remain uninsured; and

WHEREAS, California’s and the nation’s community clinics and health centers deserve to be recognized and acknowledged for their valuable services to their communities and the state, their cost-effective delivery of primary health care services to the most vulnerable populations, and their leadership in working for fair and equitable health care reform; and

WHEREAS, National Health Center Week offers the opportunity to recognize America’s health centers, their dedicated staff and board members, and all those responsible for the continued success and growth of the program since its creation 50 years ago. During National Health Center Week, the legacy of America’s health centers and their vital role in shaping the future of America’s health care system is celebrated; now, therefore, be it