Senate Resolution No. 44

Introduced by Senator Pan

August 20, 2015

Senate Resolution No. 44—Relative to National Health Center Week.

WHEREAS, Community clinics and health centers are at the
core of the nation’s health care safety net, serving anyone and
everyone who walks through their doors, regardless of ability to
pay, and are the medical homes for more than 23 million needy
and uninsured patients; and

WHEREAS, According to multiple government, academic, and
private studies, community clinics and health centers have proven
to be the most cost-effective health care providers in the field,
saving nearly $24 billion annually by keeping patients out of
costlier health care settings, such as emergency rooms; and

WHEREAS, Community clinics and health centers are private,
nonprofit corporations. The majority of their boards of directors,
by law, must be their patients and consumers, and their services
are funded primarily through public programs such as Medicaid,
federal grants, and state initiatives; and

WHEREAS, Community clinics and health centers employ more
than 11,300 physicians and 8,400 nurse practitioners, physician
assistants, and certified nurse midwives as part of a
multidisciplinary clinical team designed to treat the whole patient
by coordinating care and managing chronic disease, while at the
same time reducing unnecessary, avoidable, and wasteful use of
health resources; and

WHEREAS, Community clinics and health centers in California
and throughout the nation have led the movement for a fair and
equitable health care system, treating medically underserved
populations in medically underserved areas by reaching into the
inner city and the most rural and geographically isolated
communities; and

WHEREAS, In California, more than five million low-income
families, children, seniors, women, non-English speakers, people
of color, and homeless individuals currently receive comprehensive
primary care services at nearly 1,000 community clinics and health
centers throughout the state; and

WHEREAS, Primary care at California community clinics and
health centers involves a wide range of services, including
preventive care, chronic disease management, well child, dental,
pharmaceutical, immunization, mental health, substance abuse,
breast cancer, nutrition, family planning, and pregnancy-related
services, all of which are provided with particular sensitivity to
language and cultural competency; and

WHEREAS, California’s community clinics and health centers
have the major responsibility to provide health care services to the
state’s most disadvantaged families and individuals, are at the
forefront in implementing the national Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act, and are serving the over three million
Californians newly enrolled in Medi-Cal and Covered California
under the act, as well as the two million to three million persons
who remain uninsured; and

WHEREAS, California’s and the nation’s community clinics
and health centers deserve to be recognized and acknowledged for
their valuable services to their communities and the state, their
cost-effective delivery of primary health care services to the most
vulnerable populations, and their leadership in working for fair
and equitable health care reform; and

WHEREAS, National Health Center Week offers the opportunity
to recognize America’s health centers, their dedicated staff and
board members, and all those responsible for the continued success
and growth of the program since its creation 50 years ago. During
National Health Center Week, the legacy of America’s health
centers and their vital role in shaping the future of America’s health
care system is celebrated; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the Senate
hereby joins in proclaiming the week of August 9 to August 15,
2015, inclusive, as National Health Center Week in California;
and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.