In the U.S. nearly 1,500 community health centers (CHCs) provide essential primary health services to over 32.5 million people at over 16,000 locations across the country. Community governed, CHCs focus on health promotion, chronic disease management, preventative care screenings, care coordination and community engagement—and serve everyone regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.
CHCs are proven efficient in reaching population groups with the highest burden of disease and illness. Studies have shown that people of color in the U.S. face disparities in access to healthcare, quality of care and mortality when compared to their White counterparts. Despite continued advancements in U.S. healthcare, race-based and ethnicity-based disparities persist.
Partnering to advance equitable care—and career paths for nurses
The National Association of Community Health Centers’ (NACHC) seeks to advance CHCs as the foundation of an equitable healthcare system free of disparities and promote efficient, high quality, comprehensive healthcare for all—care that is accessible, culturally and linguistically competent, community directed and patient centered. Since 2020, Johnson & Johnson has partnered with NACHC to advance health equity and close the health system gaps keeping nearly 100 million people each year in the U.S. from receiving the care they need.
This collaborative work is anchored in two programs that represent J&J’s commitment to community-based care and championing the health workforce:
Models of Care for Racial Health Equity – This program enables CHCs to expand, strengthen or enhance effective models of care that have proven to improve health outcomes on key chronic health conditions, including hypertension, diabetes, behavioral health and obesity, in populations that have been historically marginalized or under-resourced.
NACHC has selected 22 CHCs from across the country to receive the “Models of Care for Racial Health Equity” award. Each awardee has been granted $50,000 to invest in an existing program, targeted intervention or other care delivery method shown to have measurable improvements in racial health outcomes.
- Nursing Pipelines & Pathways – CHCs turn to nurses at all levels in their delivery of care to the communities they serve. Eight CHCs have been selected to receive $40,000 to implement workforce development and “grow your own” strategies to expand a health center’s established workforce programs and pipeline.
Both programs seek to improve health equity by advancing equitable approaches to workforce development and community engagement and mobilization. This multifaceted approach—which combines training and support of health center staff with operational support, education and community engagement—aims to foster a more inclusive and equitable healthcare system for all individuals.
See NACHC announcement for the full list of program awardees.