National Health Center Week (NHCW), August 4 – 10, is an annual event that “celebrate[s] and increase[s] awareness of America’s 1,400 Community Health Centers (CHCs). National Health Center Week is an opportunity to highlight the commitment and passion of Community Health Center staff, board members, and supporters who make it possible to provide quality, comprehensive health care services to more than 31.5 million patients across nearly 15,000 communities annually.” (NACHC)
Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O’Connell’s Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People
by Tracy Kidder
“In Rough Sleepers, Kidder shows how one person can make a difference, as he tells the story of Dr. Jim O’Connell, a gifted man who invented ways to create a community of care for a city’s unhoused population, including those who sleep on the streets—the ‘rough sleepers.’”
CHC Connection: CHCs serve everyone in their communities. Oftentimes, this includes those experiencing homelessness. Kidder’s book offers an insight into the lives of our unhoused neighbors, and O’Connell’s work mirrors the work CHCs do every day.
Out in the Rural – A Mississippi Health Center & Its War on Poverty
by Thomas J. Ward
“In Out in the Rural: A Mississippi Health Center and Its War on Poverty, historian Dr. Thomas J. Ward Jr., professor and chair of the History Department at Spring Hill College (Mobile, Alabama) explores the origins of the community health center movement through the story of the Tufts-Delta Health Center in Mound Bayou, Mississippi.”
CHC Connection: To truly understand CHCs and their mission, it’s important to take a look at the roots of the movement and the environment that caused it to come about.
Mountains Beyond Mountains – The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World
by Tracy Kidder
“At the center of Mountains Beyond Mountains stands Paul Farmer. Doctor, Harvard professor, renowned infectious-disease specialist, anthropologist, the recipient of a MacArthur 'genius' grant, world-class Robin Hood, Farmer was brought up in a bus and on a boat, and in medical school found his life’s calling: to diagnose and cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most.”
CHC Connection: Health doesn’t start and stop in the exam room. Many factors play into it, including social status, environment, and even politics. Farmer’s actions directly relate to the mission of CHCs like Peak Vista – to provide care to everyone.
The Good Doctors – The Medical Committee for Human Rights and the Struggle for Social Justice in Health Care
by John Dittmer
“The Good Doctors describes a unique historical event in our ongoing struggles for civil rights and social justice: how hundreds of doctors, nurses, medical students, psychologists and other health professionals came to join Mississippi's 'Freedom Summer' in 1964 and served as a volunteer medical corps for the civil rights movement. They went on to help launch a nationwide community health center network for the poor and underserved. (UPMH. Jack Geiger, MD, professor emeritus, CUNY Medical School)”
CHC Connection: CHCs were born out of the Civil Rights Movement!
Community Health Centers: A Movement and the People Who Made It Happen
by Bonnie Lefkowitz
“The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has placed a national spotlight on the shameful state of health care for America's poor. In the face of this highly publicized disaster, public health experts are more concerned than ever about persistent disparities that result from income and race. This book tells the story of one groundbreaking approach to medicine that attacks the problem by focusing on the wellness of whole neighborhoods.”
CHC Connection: Learn more about the mission and history of CHCs through the accounts of those connected to it: elected officials, health care workers, patients, and advocates.
A Framework for Understanding Poverty
by Ruby K. Payne, PhD
'A Framework for Understanding Poverty teaches the hidden rules of economic class and spreads the message that, despite the obstacles poverty can create in all types of interaction, there are specific strategies for overcoming them. Through case studies, personal stories and observations that produce some ‘Aha!’ moments, Payne clearly strikes a chord in her readers, and provides a hopeful message.'
CHC Connection: One of the main populations CHCs serve are those who may be uninsured, underinsured, or may not be able to otherwise afford health care. It’s important to understand those we serve to provide the most support to them in their time of need, without judgement or criticism.
A Good Time to Be Born: How Science and Public Health Gave Children a Future
by Perri Klass
'The steady beating back of infant and child mortality is one of our greatest human achievements. Interweaving her own experiences as a medical student and doctor, Perri Klass pays tribute to groundbreaking women doctors like Rebecca Lee Crumpler, Mary Putnam Jacobi, and Josephine Baker, and to the nurses, public health advocates, and scientists who brought new approaches and scientific ideas about sanitation and vaccination to families.”
CHC Connection: CHCs serve a large population of children (1 in 9). Their health is paramount to the health of our community and future.
Looking for more CHC-related reads (and watches)? Check out the following lists, articles, and videos from the National Association for Community Health Centers’ (NACHC):
- Good Reads to Inspire Innovation(opens in a new tab)
- Book Spotlight: Peace & Health Chronicles Health Center Origins(opens in a new tab)
- How a Black Community Brought Affordable Health Care and Clean Water to Rural South Carolina in the 1970s(opens in a new tab)
- New Video: History of Community Health Centers(opens in a new tab)
