Proclamation
WHEREAS, For over 50 years, Community Health Centers continue to make a significant impact on America’s health care system by providing high-quality, affordable, comprehensive primary and preventive health care in our nation’s most underserved communities; and WHEREAS, As the country’s largest primary care network, Community Health Centers are the health care home for 30 million Americans in over 14,000 communities across the nation. One in every twelve people in the United States gets their care in a Community Health Center; and WHEREAS, Community Health Centers are a critical element of the health system, serving both rural and urban communities, and often providing the only accessible and dependable source of primary care in their communities. Nationwide, Community Health Centers serve one in every five residents of rural areas; and WHEREAS, Every day, Community Health Centers develop new approaches to integrating a wide range of services beyond primary care, including oral health, vision, behavioral health, and pharmacy services, to meet the needs and challenges of their communities; and WHEREAS, Community Health Centers are locally owned and operated small businesses that serve as critical economic engines, helping to power local economies by generating $63.4 billion in economic activity in some of the country’s most economically deprived communities; and WHEREAS, Community Health Centers nationally employ more than 253,000 people, including physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and certified nurse midwives who work as part of multi-disciplinary clinical teams designed to treat the whole patient.; and WHEREAS, Community Health Centers serve as beacons of essential resources and support in testing and treatment in the face of the global coronavirus pandemic, and will continue to offer reliable, affordable, high-quality care against COVID-19 for America’s most vulnerable and underserved communities; and WHEREAS, During National Health Center Week, we celebrate the legacy of America’s Community Health Centers, and their vital role in shaping the past, present, and future of America’s health care system.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, MATTHEW SERRATTO, Mayor of the City of Merced, do hereby proclaim August 6-12, 2023, as National Health Center Week and encourage every resident to visit Golden Valley Health Centers and celebrate the important partnership between America’s Health Centers and the communities they serve.
Signed this 7th day of August, 2023
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Matthew Serratto, Mayor of Merced