CONGRESSWOMAN SUMMER LEE, CENTER, WITH NORTH SIDE CHRISTIAN HEALTH CENTER CEO BETHANY BLACKBURN AND CORNERSTONE CARE CEO RICH RINEHART. (PHOTO BY ROB TAYLOR JR.)
Congresswoman Lee gets award for her role in money allocation
Over money, over status, over the type of car you drive, your health is what’s most important.
Without your health, nothing else matters.
Those who don’t have health insurance, are on a fixed income or may qualify as low-income are often the people who visit FQHCs, or Federally Qualified Health Centers.
But it takes elected officials to continue to fight in Washington, D.C., for money allocated to FQHCs across the nation. Congresswoman Summer Lee has fought the fight, and on Monday, Aug. 5, she was awarded the Distinguished Community Health Center Advocate Award by the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC). The presentation was made to Congresswoman Lee at the North Side Christian Health Center, on Middle Street. The North Side Christian Health Center is one of nine FQHCs in Southwestern Pennsylvania, and one of six that are exclusively in Allegheny County.
“It’s an honor to be able to work on you all’s behalf,” Congresswoman Lee said as she was presented with the all-glass award. “I don’t take for granted how important the work it is that you all do at every one of these facilities, the many people who are relying on this service who would otherwise not be taken care of. It’s my job to go and stand in the gap and to fight as hard as we can to make sure there is money in every budget.”
Across the country, some 31 million Americans get health care services from FQHCs, the New Pittsburgh Courier has learned. And of those 31 million, at least 18 percent are African Americans. More than 20 percent of respondents from data compiled by the Health Resources and Services Administration didn’t classify themselves as Black or White, or declined to give their race.
Exact numbers on how many African Americans use FQHCs in Southwestern Pennsylvania are unknown, but the nine FQHCs in the region service about 100,000 people per year.
In addition to the North Side Christian Health Center, other familiar FQHCs in the area include Primary Care Health Services (based on Hamilton Avenue in Homewood), East Liberty Family Health Care Center (across from Home Depot in East Liberty), Metro Community Health Center (South Braddock Avenue near Edgewood Towne Center), Squirrel Hill Health Center (Browns Hill Road) and Sto-Rox Family Health Center (Thompson Avenue, McKees Rocks).
Bethany Blackburn, CEO of the North Side Christian Health Center, presented Congresswoman Lee with the award, as it kicked off National Community Health Center Week. “North Side Christian Health Center is a small community-based health care center that never turns anyone away who is seeking health care. It is dependent on the advocacy and voice of those like Representative Summer Lee who understands how critical Federally Qualified Health Centers are for communities such as the North Side,” Blackburn said in a statement.
Rich Rinehart, CEO of Cornerstone Care Community Health Centers, which is a FQHC that has multiple locations across the state, also was on hand to provide remarks next to Blackburn and the congresswoman.
“She’s been a great supporter, and we really appreciate that support in Congress,” Rinehart told the Courier about Congresswoman Lee. He’s also the chairman of the Pa. Association of Community Health Centers’ Board of Directors. “We (FQHCs) form a safety net for people that otherwise might be falling between the cracks. We’re there to see everybody—people that don’t have many other options or no options, and people who have good health insurance choose to come to us because they like the quality of care that they get.”
“We see anyone who walks through our doors,” Blackburn added. “We see you no matter where you’re at in your life journey. No matter what your race is, your color, your gender identity; we don’t care who you love, we don’t care what your religion is. We don’t care whether you have insurance or not. We are here to provide you care, so that you can feel better and that you and your family can reach your full potential
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