(Black PR Wire) Bethesda, MD -- National Health Center Week (August 12th- 18th) is an annual celebration with the goal of raising awareness about the mission and accomplishments of America’s health centers over the past five decades.

Health centers serve 27 million patients a number that continues to grow along with the demand for affordable primary care. In addition to their long history as health care homes to millions, health centers produce innovative solutions to the most pressing health care issues in their communities and reach beyond the walls of conventional medicine to address the social determinants of health affecting special patient populations. Each year we celebrate the work and services health centers provide to special populations within their community on designated days during the week.

This year, the National Association of Community Health Centers and the Health Center Advocacy Network invites you to celebrate the incredible health care heroes– individuals who live and breathe the health center mission and exceed the call of duty to support health centers in providing quality health care for patients in the community.

A host of NHCW events are scheduled across the country, including health fairs, visits by Members of Congress and state officials to local health centers, press conferences, back-to-school drives, community breakfasts, patient appreciation events, free health screenings and much more. Each day of NHCW 2018 is dedicated to a particular focus area:

• Sunday, 8/12: Legislative Appreciation Day
• Monday, 8/13: Honoring Health Center Heroes
• Tuesday, 8/14: Public Housing Health Centers Day
• Wednesday, 8/15: Healthcare for the Homeless Day
• Thursday, 8/16: Agricultural Worker Health Day
• Friday, 8/17: Patient Appreciation Day
• Saturday, 8/18: Children’s Health Day

We encourage you to consider coordinating your celebrations around the corresponding dates and focus days to showcase the innovative and dedicated health center heroes  in your community. To be clear, your events do not have to coincide exactly with the focus of respective days – much like the NHCW theme, focus days are available to enhance your events and help provide structure at your discretion. By coordinating as many local efforts as possible focused on each area on the same day, helps maximize the national impact of our message.

Mark your calendars for National Health Center Week 2019, August 11th-17th.

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