[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 112 (Friday, August 3, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1527]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 TRIBUTE TO 25 YEARS OF SERVICE BY THE EAST JORDAN FAMILY HEALTH CENTER

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 2, 2001

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to two 
significant health care events, which will take place while you and I 
and our House colleagues are back in our districts during the August 
work period.
  The first event is national, the celebration of National Health 
Center Week, August 19 through 25. This year's theme is ``Breaking New 
Ground in Community Health,'' a theme that reflects the expanding role 
of community health centers in our nation's system of health care 
delivery.
  The second event is the Aug. 23 celebration of a quarter century of 
community service by the East Jordan Family Health Center, which 
provides basic and expanded medical care for 10,000 members in a rural 
part of our nation--building healthy families and communities and 
ensuring a good quality of life.
  The two events, Mr. Speaker, are entwined. The national celebration 
marks more than 30 years of growth of a grant program for health care 
delivery, and the local celebration is a bright example of that 
successful growth.
  The East Jordan Family Health Center was incorporated 25 years ago 
when the community lost its only doctor. The next nearest community 
with a doctor was Charlevoix, 18 miles away. So a forward-looking 
consortium of community members came together and created a private, 
not-for-profit service.
  When the medical practice in the nearby small community of Bellaire 
was pulling out, the East Jordan Center purchased that clinic and the 
services of one doctor.
  Now the East Jordan Center offers its 10,000 members the services of 
ten doctors at two health delivery sites. Among its services are family 
practice, pediatric care, and internal medicine. The Center offers full 
X-ray and mammography services.
  Membership in the center, Mr. Speaker, is $6 per year for individuals 
and $10 per year for families. It is governed by a board of directors 
elected by the membership. The East Jordan Family Health Center draws 
its strength and direction from the community, and through that 
strength it offers other services to the community.
  Doctors practicing at the Center can provide other health services, 
such as assisting in a local nursing home. The not-for-profit nature of 
the Center qualifies the organization for federal grants, which are 
used to provide health care to those residents who might not otherwise 
have access to preventive medicine.
  The facilities themselves are a community asset. Space is provided 
free to the local Food Pantry, and to a counseling service. 
Organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous are given meeting space. 
Clearly, keeping health care costs low through a community-based health 
care service helps meet a broad range of local needs.
  The outreach doesn't stop there. The center has collaborated with the 
Northwest Michigan Community Health Agency, the district health 
department, to renovate space and provide modernized dental facilities, 
ensuring oral health care access for area residents.
  Facilities like the East Jordan Center are a great health deal for 
their members, but we in Congress need to recognize their important 
place in national health care delivery. According to the Michigan 
Primary Care Association, community health centers in Michigan receive 
1 percent of the state's Medicaid dollars but provide 10 percent of the 
Medicaid services, clearly an excellent bang for the buck.
  Here's some national figures. According to the National Association 
of Community Health Centers Inc., our nation's Health Centers are ``the 
family doctor and health care home for more than 10 million people,'' 
including one of every 12 rural residents, one of every 10 uninsured 
persons, one of every six low-income children, and one of every four 
homeless persons.
  As we in Congress work to ensure that all Americans have access to 
the finest quality, most advanced, most personal kind of health care, 
we must recognize those individuals and groups on the front lines of 
health care delivery. I ask you and our House colleagues to join me in 
wishing the East Jordan Family Health Center the best as it celebrates 
25 years of helping to work toward the same goals.

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