Four Days of Celebration and Innovation in the Movement to Improve Access to Quality Care for All
Thank you to everyone who joined the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved (ACU) at our 2025 Conference! On Aug. 3-6, ACU welcomed clinicians, administrators, public health leaders, and advocates from health centers, primary care associations, state primary care offices, and other institutions across the U.S. to celebrate the innovation, commitment, and compassion of our network as we explored The Power of Advocacy & The Promise of Primary Care.
This year’s #ACUConf featured a host of highlights, including a Pre-Conference Workshop on compassionate leadership, a screening and panel discussion of the documentary Doc Albany by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ben Proudfoot, ACU’s second Behavioral Health Leadership Forum, our induction of the 2025 cohort of Fellows of ACU, and more. In addition to spotlighting innovation, networking, and fellowship, #ACUConf also celebrated the 60-year history of the health center movement during National Health Center Week.
“Every single person in this room and every person back home is part of a movement,” said Amanda Pears Kelly, ACU CEO. “There’s a 60-year history of health centers. We sometimes forget the importance of telling this story, where it started, and what’s at the heart of it: our community advisement and the patients we see. Belonging to the movement of health centers and of the National Health Service Corps is critical, but if you don’t remember to tell that story, it’s easy to forget. So let’s sing the story of Doc Albany [and others] from the rooftops.”
That story came into focus in an update from Jim Macrae, Associate Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)’s Bureau of Primary Health Care, which celebrated the incredible achievements of community health centers (CHCs) in 2024. As Macrae noted, over 32 million people received care at CHCs that year, including 1 in 5 people in rural communities and 1 in 15 people aged 65 or older. Over 310,000 staff are working at health centers, which expanded by more than 1,000 service sites across the U.S. in 2024 alone.
“Health centers are celebrating their sixtieth anniversary this year . . . and it’s staff that make that work possible. Thank you for all that you do,” said Macrae. “Your collective impact is being felt across the country.”
Health Center Patients Cared for in 2024
Realizing the Promise of Primary Care
To ensure our network can continue maximizing their impact in improving the health of medically underserved communities, experts shared numerous strategies to enhance access to and quality of care in workshops, roundtables, and keynote addresses throughout #ACUConf. Ranging from explorations of how to build a more robust mental health workforce to strategies to improve vision care for children at CHCs, these sessions featured experts from organizations such as Albany Area Primary Health Care, Prevent Blindness, Ascend Healthcare, The Wright Center for Community Health, and many more.
What united these workshops, however, was a singular focus on strengthening the whole-person care that is the hallmark of health centers—and supporting the essential well-being of the workforce that makes it possible. In a morning panel on Aug. 5, for example, Dr. Parinda Khatri, CEO of River Valley Health in Tennessee, joined other national experts to illuminate the scope of the maternal mental health crisis.
“Women are dying. And many others are suffering emotionally . . . The maternal mental health crisis has huge impacts for children, for the economy,” said Dr. Khatri.
The panel explored how health centers can help address the crisis with integrated, trauma-informed, and team-based care. Other sessions explored innovative strategies to develop shared medical appointment programs, to improve dementia care, and to enhance suicide prevention initiatives at health centers for patients and staff alike.
So, too, did the need to continue elevating and supporting our clinical and non-clinical staff come into focus at #ACUConf.
“I try to walk through a continuum of care to allow my colleagues to see how everyone helps moves the needle,” from physicians and patient navigators to front office staff taking the call to make a appointment that saves a life, explained Shelley Spires, CEO of Albany Area Primary Health Care, in a panel discussion of Doc Albany. “We must continue to shine in the work that all of us do for those who don’t have access to care.”
Other sessions and keynotes explored strategies for effective management and insights from ACU’s National Center for Workforce Development & Training, federal updates from the Health Resources and Services Administration and its Bureau of Health Workforce, as well as how to develop trauma-competent organizations and how health professionals in training can navigate the recruitment process.
Honoring Excellence in Our Field
ACU’s 2025 Conference was also a celebration of our community, and in addition to fellowship and networking opportunities—including our second Buddy Program—the event also spotlighted outstanding leaders, clinicians, advocates, and organizations in our field with awards and induction as Fellows of ACU.
ACU’s 2025 Conference award winners included:
- Clinician of the Year: Dr. Blanca Lissette Toso, DO, of Unity Health Care
- Marc Wetherhorn Advocate of the Year: Dr. Kelly Holland, MD, of Lynn Community Health Center
- Organizational Excellence: Evara Health
- Health Professional in Training: José Conde, MD Candidate, of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and Dr. Victor Hugo Rodriguez, MD, MPH, of Tulane University School of Medicine
- Excellence in Behavioral Health: Dr. Parinda Khatri, PhD, of River Valley Health
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Dr. Virna Little, PsyD, LCSW-r, SAP, CCM, of Zero Overdose and Concert Health
Newly inducted Fellows of ACU included:
- Ashley Colwell MS, PHR, of Illinois Primary Health Care Association
- Dr. Christian Neal, MD, of the Centene Corporation
Sharing the Power of Advocacy for the National Health Service Corps
#ACUConf also uplifted the voices of our community in shared advocacy to protect vital health extender programs including the National Health Service Corps (NHSC), which in the words of Dr. James Hotz of Albany Area Primary Health Care, is “critical because it enables people who want to make a difference to do so in rural and other hard-to-reach communities where patients need it most.”
On Aug. 6, ACU advocates convened on Capitol Hill to speak with legislators about the importance of supporting the NHSC, health centers, and other crucial programs for community health. Advocates visited the offices of Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Senator Thom Thillis (R-NC), Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and others to raise awareness of the crucial need to ensure long-term, sustainable funding for the NHSC on Hill Day, concluding the Conference with a rousing call to action.
Celebrating a Singular Network
#ACUConf was a tribute to the resilience, passion, and vision of our community in navigating change to establish a robust, multifaceted workforce to help transform communities to improve access to quality healthcare for all.
“You continue to do incredible work every single day,” said Kelly, concluding the Conference. “We’re so grateful to you all for joining us here, and we hope you’ll leave feeling energized to keep going. ACU is here to help. We do this work because of you, and we know we’ll succeed together.”
We invite you to celebrate our community’s shared achievements and enduring innovation with ACU at our next Conference on July 26-29, 2026, at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. Want to stay engaged in the movement to advance access to quality care for medically underserved communities in the meantime? Sign up for our mailing list or join us as a member!
Thank You to Our Sponsors
