Community Health Centers Ready to Work on Health Care Challenges

DENVER― Our country has just concluded another election and we stand ready to work together to solve our nation’s, state’s, and community’s hardest problems, regardless of where we individually stand on the political spectrum.

Colorado Community Health Centers (CHCs) congratulate newly-elected and re-elected local, state, and congressional office holders, and thank current holders for their past support of the Community Health Center program. Public service is a calling requiring commitment to communities and to good governance. Our doctors, nurses, dentists, mental health therapists, board members, and the many others who serve their communities at Community Health Centers (CHCs), and others who work for and volunteer at CHCs across the country stand ready to continue our work to make health care accessible to all, regardless of income.

The CHC movement has served for decades as an example of true nonpartisanship, recognized by  Republican, Democratic, and Independent lawmakers as an innovative and local solution that brings health and employment to our communities. The CHC program generates billions of dollars in savings to the health care system each year, and identifies and addresses emerging public health threats such as the opioid addiction problem, the barriers to health care caused by social determinants of health, and challenges to receiving health care following natural disasters.

Furthermore, CHCs provide health care homes for more than one in seven people in Colorado and employ more than 5,600 people in communities across Colorado. Twenty CHCs operate 202 clinic sites in 42 counties, caring for patients living in just about every county in Colorado.

We look forward to working with our government leaders at all levels on the challenges that continue to prevent people from getting the health care they need, including access to the full range of health care providers, regardless of place of residence or income; the price of care and insurance; access to necessary services that are excluded from or inadequately covered by either private insurance or public; and greater access to mental health services.

We wish much success to the incoming lawmakers in serving the American people, and we pledge to work hard with them to build a stronger and healthier America.

###

To interview Ms. Anderson, please contact Maureen Maxwell at (303) 861-5165, Ext. 259, cell (303)913-9078, or maureen@cchn.org.