MARRERO – Priority Health Care (PHC) is conducting a series of activities in recognition of National Health Center Week, which began Aug. 4 at Tivoli Place Housing Development. Nationally the week is observed Aug. 6-12. The goal is to bring about an awareness of the vital role that the more than 1,400 community health centers play in more than 14,000 communities delivering services to over 30 million people across the country, according to the Health Center Advocacy Network. “Community Health Centers also save the healthcare system more than $24 billion dollars annually in reduced emergency, hospital and specialty care costs,” the Health Center Advocacy Network noted.
According to the Louisiana Primary Association (LPCA) of which most Federally Qualified Health Care Centers (FQHCs) are members, Louisiana has 36 FQHCs operating in more than 260 locations across the state and serving 473,700 patients. FQHCs like Priority Health Care provide health care services to all regardless of age or status…newborns, adolescents, the elderly, the homeless, veterans, public housing residents, the uninsured and underinsured. In addition to the nearly 18,000 patient visits, Priority Health Care (PHC) has also contributed more than $23 million in economic stimulus to the local communities of Jefferson Parish where it provides services, according to a 2021-22 Capital Link Economic Impact Study. In its current operations, PHC has produced at least 131 jobs (direct and indirect) and has reduced the cost for health center Medicaid patients by 24%, subsequently providing a savings of $3 million to the overall health system.
This year’s theme, “Community Health Centers: The Roadmap to a Stronger America,” focuses on the role of community health centers as playing an integral role in making the country strong. “Throughout National Health Center Week, we honor those frontline workers who continued to serve the public over the course of continuing challenges people in underserved communities face in obtaining quality health care. We recognize the needs of residents who continue to experience the economic impact of the pandemic, inflation, and even homelessness,” said CEO Tamara Boutte Dioubate. She noted that building a stronger and healthier community is more important now than ever. “A healthy community allows individuals to prosper and that impacts everyone.”
Dioubate is encouraging the community to join PHC in celebrating the work done by healthcare workers and other community members in promoting healthy living. “The hallmark of our services is our holistic approach in providing health screenings, rapid testing and vaccinations in the community through our clinics, mobile unit, and in partnership with other organizations,” Dioubate noted.
PHC continues to administer needed immunizations against commonly known diseases such as measles, mumps, polio, pneumonia, influenza (FLU), and Hepatitis, to name a few. PHC is the only site in Jefferson Parish as well as in the Greater New Orleans area that has partnered with the Louisiana Department of Health to provide the Monkeypox vaccine to community members who qualify to receive it. The new pneumococcal vaccine is also available.
In recognizing National Health Center Week 2023, PHC is focusing on several activities extending appreciation to an array of constituents in the community. Click here to see the full list of events.
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