Community Health Centers Are a Vital Defense Against COVID-19

America’s 1400 community Health centers serve 1 in 5 Americans in our most underserved communities.

As the nation grapples with the mounting impact of the global coronavirus outbreak, America’s 1,400 community health centers have emerged as a critical first line of defense.

As the first and most convenient location for many to seek care, community health centers play a vital role in our healthcare safety net as we grapple with the outbreak that has upended day-to-day life and disrupted our economy. Formally called Federally Qualified Health Centers, these facilities are neighborhood-based healthcare resources that serve 29 million people — 1 in 12 Americans — who are predominantly low-income and generally have few other options for care. As Congress responds to the historic challenge of minimizing COVID-19 infections, ensuring steady long-term funding for community health centers must be a central part of the solution.

In any health emergency, public awareness combined with efficient, reliable access to screening and care are instrumental in saving lives. Community health centers are uniquely positioned to deliver on these goals. First, community health centers are located in every state and territory, in cities and rural areas alike, and serve all patients regardless of their ability to pay. No one is turned away for financial reasons. In fact, these centers serve 1 in 5 of all Americans who are uninsured or covered by Medicaid. Second, these centers are all located in underserved communities with limited alternatives for healthcare services, filling a need that might otherwise go unmet. And third, these centers are designed to be “of the community and for the community,” with medical experts and staff who forge personal bonds with residents and create a familiar and welcoming environment that large, unfamiliar emergency rooms may not be able to match.

For those who fall ill with the virus, community health centers provide swift care and protocols for quarantining to limit the risk to themselves and others. This is especially important considering that many health center patients are service workers who interact closely with the public, thereby putting others at risk if they contract the virus. As tests for COVID-19 become more widely available, community health centers are a natural location for testing and evaluation, which can be provided in a safe environment with the physical separation needed to protect patients and healthcare professionals.

At a time when our hospital emergency rooms and other acute primary care facilities are at risk of becoming overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases, community health centers perform another life-saving function: helping to absorb the load on the healthcare system. Those with minor illnesses or less-than-severe health needs can be treated in a community health center and return home, saving valuable ER space and physician time for the patients who truly need it most. They also provide dentistry, behavioral health services and other valuable offerings to their communities.

I have seen the tremendous impact of community health centers firsthand through my work guiding the development of centers in communities across the country for Turner Impact Capital. Turner has built community health centers for leading healthcare providers serving thousands of patients across the age spectrum, improving quality of care, reducing emergency visits and improving overall patient access and outcomes. By almost any measure, these centers have been a remarkable success.

In light of all these benefits, it is astonishing that long-term funding to keep these valuable resources open is in jeopardy. The Community Health Center Fund supplies 70 percent of the federal funding for these centers, but has no permanent funding source. The $2 trillion COVID-19 relief package supported by our federal lawmakers extended funding for the Community Health Center Fund through November 30, according to the National Association of Community Health Centers, but much more is needed to help them cope with this unprecedented crisis.

Looking ahead, a long-term mandatory funding stream, rather than limited short-term measures, is essential to ensuring the centers can flourish over the long-term. Now more than ever, keeping the doors open and the lights on at our community health centers is far too critical an issue to be held captive by partisan politics in Washington. The stakes could be life or death.

Originally published at https://turnerimpact.com on April 5, 2020.