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The science of protecting & improving the health of people and communities; promoting healthy lifestyles; analysis, monitoring and surveillance; researching disease; injury prevention; emergency preparedness; environmental health; recovery; detecting,preventing, and responding to infectious disease; promoting healthcare equity, quality, and accessibility (CDC Foundation).

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2. Roles of Local & State Public Health Agencies

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2. Roles of Local & State Public Health Agencies

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The leading Public Health Agency is The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But, many other agencies contribute to public health.
Public health is not a delineated federal responsibility; it is an authority retained by the states. States can accept federal assistance or delegate to local agencies such as county, city, or local levels (Teitelbaum & Wilensky, 2020).
Public health agencies, especially local agencies, are responsible for ensuring access to and the quality of the services. They serve the most vulnerable populations and are considered safety nets.

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3. What are Healthcare Safety Nets? Who do they Serve? Which Services do they Provide?

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3. What are Healthcare Safety Nets? Who do they Serve? Which Services do they Provide?

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Safety Nets are providers or facilities that organize and deliver a significant level of health care and other related services to uninsured patients, Medicaid patients, patients who have insurance but are not accepted due to low reimbursement rates, low income, and other vulnerable populations.
Healthcare safety nets, like Community Health Centers (CHC), may provide services such as primary care, preventative care, dentistry services, vision appointments, substance abuse programs, transportation services, translation assistance, case management, and health education.
Regardless of race, sex, religion, or political background, it's a service anyone can use.

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"I Am a Community Health Center Patient"

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*Community Health Centers (CHC)
*Health departments
*Community or teaching hospitals
*Private health professionals
*School-based health clinics
*Public & private hospitals
*Family planning clinics
*Public health agencies
*Ryan White HIV/AIDS programs

"Core" providers are those who serve vulnerable populations regardless of the patient's ability to pay.

The video below explains Community Health Centers roles, populations served, services provided, and the benefits these health centers provide to patients, to the community, and to health care costs.

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5.  How are CHC's Funded & How is the Money Spent?

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5.  How are CHC's Funded & How is the Money Spent?

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>Funded by Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the US department of Health & Human Services

>Federal grants for centers meeting Federal standards under the Public Health Service Act. (1,373 CHC's were federally funded in 2017.)

>State and local taxes.

28 Million patients receive care at CHC's.  Money funded by the Federal grants are used to increase access, expand services, and improve quality. (National Association of Community Health Centers, n.d.)

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-Difficulty attracting & retaining staff
-Physician shortage
-Increased number of patients from the Affordable Care Act
-Not enough funding
-Cannot meet needs of patient population
-Technology challenges

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*91% of CHC patients are at or near poverty.
*49% of patients have Medicaid while 23% are uninsured.
*36% of CHC patients are Hispanic/Latino and 22% are black/African American population.
*CHC have proven reduced disparities in hypertension treatment, patients are more likely to receive mammography screenings, pap smears, colorectal cancer screening, and CHCs have better quality measures than their counterparts nationally.
(CHC Chartbook 2019).

The PDF file below gives excellent visual data on the successes of
CHCs.