[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 4944-4945]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                 LET'S SUPPORT COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 28, 2001

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I want to join my colleagues in stressing the 
importance of funding community health centers at a level of at least 
$175 million for FY 2002. In my home State of New York, we provide over 
164,000 residents who are uninsured or Medicaid recipients with health 
care services. Low-income New Yorkers are dependent on these centers 
for important services like, immunizations, breast and cervical cancer 
exams as well as treatment for asthma, diabetes and heart disease.
  Communities served by community health centers make a real difference 
in the quality of life for that community. For example, infant 
mortality rates have been shown to be 10 to 40 percent lower than 
communities not served by health centers. Health center patients have 
lower hospital admission rates and shorter hospital stays, and make 
more appropriate use of emergency room services. Moreover, centers have 
significantly increased the use of preventive health services like pap 
smears, mammograms, and glaucoma screening services among the 
populations they serve. The

[[Page 4945]]

centers have also made significant strides in preventing anemia and 
lead poisoning. And finally, centers have been reported to make the 
benefits of public insurance programs available to more eligible 
children and adults. The HHS inspector general recently commended 
health centers for their successful efforts in finding thousands of 
children and adults who are eligible for, but not enrolled in, the 
Medicaid and S-Chip program and assisting them to enroll in these 
programs.
  In addition, we need to ensure that the reauthorization of the health 
centers program under section 330 of the Public Health Act occurs early 
during the 107th Congress. I especially want to stress the need to 
restore authority for facility construction and renovation as well as 
an appropriate allocation among the community, migrant, homeless and 
public housing health center programs.
  Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with my colleagues on Energy 
and Commerce's Subcommittee on Health to fully support community health 
centers and I urge my colleagues to actively support this critical 
health care program which provides so much in the way of services to 
low-income Americans.

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