HealthPoint Earns Advocacy Center for Excellence GOLD Badge!
We are proud to announce that with your help, HealthPoint has earned the Advocacy Center for Excellence GOLD Badge! You can learn more about this achievement and how you can help us continue to be advocates for the communities and patients we serve below.
What is an Advocacy Center for Excellence?
An Advocacy Center of Excellence (ACE) is a Community Health Center that creates a culture of advocacy to ensure that policymakers at all levels of government commit to investing in the affordable, equitable, and innovative care that health centers provide. ACE levels recognize consistent engagement and demonstrate an ongoing commitment to making advocacy an organizational priority. ACEs actively partner with the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) on federal policy issues, as well as their state Primary Care Association (PCA) on key local-level policy issues impacting health centers and their patients. There are three ACE levels – Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Each ACE designation is valid for two years.
Community Health Centers make up the largest network of primary care providers in America. As federal and state budget priorities shift, it is critical for health centers to rally support to promote access to affordable, equitable, and innovative care for which they are known. By becoming an ACE, you commit to integrating advocacy into the mission and operation of your organization to ensure your health center, the patients you serve, and the community at large have a voice in policymakers’ critical decisions.
HealthPoint’s Advocacy Journey
In October 2022, HealthPoint took a significant step in advocating for affordable, equitable, and innovative healthcare by launching the Advocacy Center of Excellence (ACE) Program. This initiative, in collaboration with the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) and our state Primary Care Association, the Texas Association of Community Health Centers (TACHC), underscores our commitment to advancing the vital work of health centers.
Throughout 2022 and early 2023, we worked diligently to schedule visits, calls, and meetings with local elected officials and even a few national ones! We reached out to you and asked that you make phone calls, send emails, and sign up to be an advocate yourself. During National Health Center Week 2023, we had proclamations read at our clinics and city council meetings. All of YOUR hard work has paid off!
I am delighted to announce that HealthPoint achieved the prestigious Advocacy Center of Excellence Gold Status in August of this year. This recognition is a testament to our commitment and excellence in formalizing our advocacy program, making it an integral part of our health center operations. Looking ahead to 2024, we are excited to build on this achievement. Our focus is on further strengthening our advocacy efforts, amplifying our impact, and continuing to be a beacon for affordable, equitable, and innovative healthcare.
