Aug. 7-13 has been designated Community Health Center Week by both President Obama and Gov. Mitch Daniels.

What does this mean to you? Most people do not know what a Community Health Center is and that one is serving Northeast Indiana. It is Neighborhood Health Clinics, 1717 S. Calhoun St., plus several satellite locations.

We provide care for the entire family. Prenatal patients are served by a rotation of physicians, but family practice, pediatric, dental and women’s health patients can see one provider for their care and develop an ongoing relationship.

Neighborhood Health Clinics served nearly 15,000 medical and dental patients, provided 50,000 medical and dental visits, and served more than 13,500 WIC clients in 2010.

These are hard times. Almost all of us know someone who has lost a job, closed a business or lost health care benefits because of the recession. As president of Neighborhood Health Clinics, I can tell you that we have seen the effect in increased numbers of people seeking our medical, dental and WIC services. Many are seeking these services for the first time after losing their job and/or their health insurance.

Community Health Centers are located in areas that do not have many other sources of care. Most local physician’s and dentist’s offices in the area have moved to the suburbs. Health centers provide services that are available to all: Those with insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, and those with no insurance. The care is not free, but is available at a reduced fee based on household income for the uninsured.

Studies have shown that the quality of care provided at health centers is equal to or greater than other primary care providers and patient satisfaction is consistently higher than 90 percent. Studies have shown the savings in costs from health centers. A recent George Washington University report that examined Indiana Community Health Centers noted that, for every dollar of health care services provided by the health centers, nearly two dollars was saved for the state health care system. In addition, Indiana Community Health Centers provide jobs for more than 1,500 people and have an economic effect of nearly $200 million per year. Health centers are locally controlled, nonprofit entities directed by patient-majority boards, making them accountable to the communities they serve.

Neighborhood Health Clinics is growing to meet the increasing need in Northeast Indiana. An additional dentist, two family-practice physicians, and a family-practice nurse practitioner will join our staff by the end of 2011 to expand our capacity. New construction of nearly $8.5 million will be completed by the end of 2012, adding medical and dental space and a new parking garage on South Calhoun Street. A new WIC site was recently opened at the Department of Health. And collaboration with Park Center will bring mental health services to our medical/dental main location in the next six months.

What does this mean to you? If you need medical, dental or WIC services, Neighborhood Health Clinics is here to serve you. Our mission is to serve people who face barriers to care from usual sources. These barriers may be financial, location, language, hours of service, culture, social issues, transportation, and/or lack of knowledge of health systems. Call us at 260-458-2641 or come to our facility at 1717 S. Calhoun St. (look for the blue awnings). Neighborhood Health Clinics, your community health center, is here to serve you during Community Health Center Week and every other week.