[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 152 (Wednesday, August 11, 2021)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 43903-43904]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17252]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 152 / Wednesday, August 11, 2021 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 43903]]
Proclamation 10237 of August 6, 2021
National Health Center Week, 2021
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
In 1965, our Nation launched its first community health
centers to improve the lives and well-being of
Americans regardless of their ability to pay. These
health centers were a key component of President Lyndon
B. Johnson's ``Great Society'' series of policy
initiatives to eliminate poverty and racial injustice,
and today serve as the bedrock on which our public
health system was built. Today, health centers are one
of the largest health care providers in the country and
provide high-quality affordable, accessible, and value-
based primary health care services to 29 million
Americans each year--approximately 1 in 11 people
across the country. They have also been a vital part of
our Nation's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over
the course of National Health Center Week, we recognize
the importance of federally-supported health centers
and the role they play as a beacon of strength,
service, and care in our communities.
Health centers integrate medical, dental, and
behavioral health care services into a single ``health
home'' and consistently yield strong patient outcomes.
Health centers also play a critical role in reducing
racial and ethnic, geographic, socioeconomic, and other
health disparities in the United States. They are
invaluable to ensuring that our Nation's underserved
populations, especially individuals and families living
in poverty, rural communities, and communities of color
are able to receive the care they need and deserve.
Our Nation's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is
stronger because of our health centers, and the
tireless, dedicated health center employees who
continue to deliver critical services such as COVID-19
testing, treatment, and prevention services on the
front lines. As we ramped up the distribution of COVID-
19 vaccines over the past several months, health
centers, through the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine
Program, have vaccinated and built vaccine confidence
in millions of Americans from hard-hit and high-risk
communities. Two-thirds of individuals vaccinated at
health centers so far identify as racial and ethnic
minorities. Health centers have also offered greater
flexibility during the pandemic by expanding telehealth
services to those in need.
I believe that health care in America should be a
right, not a privilege. No one should have to lay awake
at night staring at the ceiling wondering what they are
going to do to get the care they need or to pay the
bills if a family member gets sick. That is why I will
do everything in my power to ensure that all Americans
have access to the quality, affordable health care they
deserve--and the peace of mind it brings.
In support of that goal, my Administration is committed
to expanding health centers and increasing access to
their life-saving services. That is why we invested
more than $7.6 billion to help health centers prevent
and respond to COVID-19 and improve health care
services--including over $1 billion for major
infrastructure and renovation projects at health
centers across the country through the American Rescue
Plan. I am also committed to doubling the Federal
investment in community health centers to further
expand access to care and make strides in our pursuit
of health equity.
[[Page 43904]]
During National Health Center Week, we recognize the
importance of health centers and their staff who heal
and strengthen our local communities. We salute their
dedication and service. As our Nation builds back
better, we commit to working together to bring about a
stronger, healthier Nation for all.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States, do hereby proclaim the week of
August 8 through August 14, 2021, as National Health
Center Week.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
sixth day of August, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-one, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
sixth.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2021-17252
Filed 8-10-21; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F1-P