Understanding CHC Roles, Needs, and Impacts During Disasters
Each year, over 31.5 million patients depend on the 14,000+ community health center (CHC) locations across the U.S. These centers serve as lifelines, addressing health disparities and providing comprehensive primary healthcare to medically underserved rural and urban communities. However, disasters pose unique challenges, profoundly impacting the management of patients with chronic conditions and the medically vulnerable.
The Association of Clinicians for the Underserved (ACU) recently collaborated with Healthcare Ready on two policy briefs that provide essential tools for community health centers before, during, and after disasters. These free resources highlight CHC’s role throughout the disaster lifecycle, common operational challenges and needs in the face of disasters, existing legislation related to health center resilience in addressing health disparities, and much more.
