The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #69786

Sam Shekar, MD, MPH, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Primary Health Care, 4350 East West Highway, 11 th Floor, Bethesda, MD 20814, 301-594-4110, sshekar@hrsa.gov

The President's Initiative to Expand Health Centers will strengthen the safety net for those most in need by extending the availability of primary health care services to patients and families. The Initiative's goal is to create 1,200 new or expanded health center access points by (FY) 2006. The goal will result in Health Centers reaching 30 % of the projected 53 million people without access to care. The evidence-based quality primary health care and improved health status outcomes for people served in these new and existing centers, typically low-income and minority, will more toward eliminating health disparities in this population. The Initiative supports policies for integrating primary health care services by providing greater flexibility to align health care delivery through existing programs including Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program, and the Integrated Services Development Initiative. Maintaining a commitment to community-based programs, the President's Initiative will allow Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) grantees to reach an additional six million people over the next 5 years. To meet the care and patient goals of the Initiative, an addition of 7000 primary care providers and 30,000 staff are needed to serve these patients and families. This is an exceptional challenge, and demands focused attention by HRSA, BPHC its partners and the Health Center's administrators, clinicians, and boards of directors. The processes, infrastructure and partners to meet this challenge are analyzed.

Learning Objectives:

• · Analyze characteristics of Consolidated Health Centers and their effect on the delivery of quality health care to underserved populations in the community setting;
• · Analyze issues and partnerships affecting the delivery of quality community-based primary health care;
• · Describe effective community-based health programs and activities for prevention and disease management that affect patient and families behaviors and lifestyles; Describe effective programs and activities that are improving the delivery of care in many of our nation's communities.

Keywords: Access to Health Care, Community-Oriented Primary Care

Related Web page: www.hrsa.gov

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: HHS, HRSA, BPHC
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Handout (.ppt format, 3855.0 kb)