Expressing support for the designation of the first week of August as “National Community Health Center Week”, and encouraging all Americans to participate by visiting their local community health center and celebrating the important partnership between health centers and the communities they serve.

Expressing support for the designation of the first week of August as “National Community Health Center Week”, and encouraging all Americans to participate by visiting their local community health center and celebrating the important partnership between health centers and the communities they serve.

Whereas, for over 60 years, community health centers have provided access to high-quality, affordable, comprehensive, preventive care to the Nation, delivering unparalleled return on investment for, and having a significant positive impact on, America’s health system;

Whereas, as the country’s largest primary care network, over 1,500 community health centers are the health care home for 52,000,000 Americans in 17,000 communities, such that 1 in 7 people across the United States and 1 in 3 in rural America rely on community health centers;

Whereas community health centers are a critical element of America’s health system, serving rural, suburban, island, frontier, and urban communities, often as the only accessible and dependable source of primary care;

Whereas community health centers are responding to the growing burden of chronic disease by expanding access to nutrition services and lifestyle counseling, reducing expensive emergency room visits and hospital admissions and keeping Americans healthy;

Whereas community health centers integrate a wide range of services into primary care, such as behavioral health, dental, vision, hearing, and pharmacy services, creating a one-stop shop for all health-related needs;

Whereas community health centers are uniquely governed by patient-majority boards, ensuring communities are fully engaged in health centers’ strategy for improving care access and quality;

Whereas community health centers are locally operated nonprofit organizations that empower local economies by generating nearly $262,000,000,000 in economic activity across the country;

Whereas community health centers nationally support 809,000 jobs, including physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, counselors, dentists, pharmacists, community health workers on multidisciplinary teams;

Whereas the community health center model of care is effective at overcoming barriers to access, including geography, income, and insurance status, improving health outcomes and saving taxpayer dollars;

Whereas community health centers provided cancer screenings to over 10,000,000 patients in 2024 and helped 67 percent of patients control their hypertension and 72 percent of patients control their diabetes;

Whereas community health centers are on the front lines of addressing the opioid epidemic, responding to health care needs arising from natural disasters, expanding access to care for our veterans, and operating nearly 4,500 school-based sites and over 1,200 mobile units to reach people living in more rural and remote areas;

Whereas “National Community Health Center Week” offers the opportunity to recognize the contributions of every community health center, the House of Representatives honors the dedicated staff, board members, patients, and all those responsible for their continued success since the first health centers opened their doors 6 decades ago; and

Whereas, during “National Community Health Center Week”, the House of Representatives celebrates the legacy of community health centers and their vital role in shaping the past, present, and future of America’s health system: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

(1) supports the designation of “National Community Health Center Week”; and

(2) encourages all Americans to participate by visiting their local community health center and celebrating the important partnership between health centers and the communities they serve.