National Health Center Week runs from Aug. 8-14, and Southwest Virginia Community Health Systems (SVCHS) is preparing to celebrate!
The theme is “The Chemistry for Strong Communities” to raise awareness about the mission and accomplishments of America’s Health Centers and the dedicated staff who bring health care to the medically underserved.
Elected officials will join communities across the country in elevating the work Community Health Centers have done while fighting on the front lines of COVID-19 to keep communities healthy and safe. Their visits and messages will demonstrate that not only is it possible to move beyond the partisan divide over health care, but to support and agree on a program vital to our communities. Health centers provide preventive and primary care services to almost 30 million people and have continued to do so while facing a global pandemic. Community Health Centers provide care to people who disproportionately suffer from chronic disease and lack access to affordable, quality care. While our approach is community-based and local, collectively we are the backbone of the nation’s primary care system. Community Health Centers lower health care costs to the tune of 24 billion dollars a year, reduce rates chronic diseases, and stimulate local economies.
Each day of NHCW 2021 is dedicated to a particular focus area:
· Sunday, Aug. 8 is Public Health in Housing Day
· Monday, Aug. 9 is Healthcare for the Homeless Day
· Tuesday, Aug. 10 is Agricultural Worker Health Day
· Wednesday, Aug. 11 is Patient Appreciation Day
· Thursday, Aug. 12 is Stakeholder Appreciation Day
· Friday, Aug. 13 is Health Center Staff Appreciation Day
· Saturday, Aug. 14 is Children’s Health Day
Southwest Virginia Community Health Systems is part of a nationwide network of locally-run health centers that serve more than 28 million people nationwide. They are on the front lines of national public health challenges – whether caring for veterans, providing opioid treatment, or responding to natural disasters. They are also a lifeline in remote and underserved communities where the nearest doctor or hospital can be as far as 50 miles or more away. Nearly half of health centers (44 percent) are located in rural communities.
On Aug. 9, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saltville Community Health Center, partnering with the Marsh Regional Blood Donation Center, will host a blood driver in the front parking lot. Register at https://form.jotform.com/
For Patient Appreciation Day, patients who have appointments during the week will receive a small token of appreciation from SVCHS. For Agricultural Worker Day, workers with the Migrant Health Network will be passing out small tokens of appreciation to all of our agricultural worker patients. For Health Center Staff Appreciation Day, staff members from each site will be treated to breakfast from Anthem Healthkeepers Plus. For Children’s Health Day and Public Health Day, SVCHS will be celebrating all week long on social media with healthcare-related children’s book readings from staff members and their family members.
