Dear Friends and Partners:

Success, fundamentally, is attaining a favorable or desired outcome. However, we know that success in reality entails much more than that. It happens only with hard work, perseverance in the face of challenges, and with the combined efforts of many.

Based on this understanding of success, I would suggest that the Federally Qualified Health Centers in Maryland and Delaware have been very successful over the last several years. Since 2002, health centers in both states are seeing exponential growth. This tells us that our health centers not only are providing quality care that brings people back, but that the need for services FQHCs can offer are in high demand. This success is also a direct result of the continued support for the health center program at both the state and federal level.

The road has not been easy; especially with recent economic downturn and slumping housing markets. As a result, our health centers have seen an increase in the number of unemployed and uninsured patients seeking care. This has forced our health centers to do more with less.

At MACHC, we continue to work aggressively to support our health centers in delivering quality care to the most vulnerable residents in Maryland and Delaware. This commitment is demonstrated through such MACHC programs as the Continuous Quality Improvement Initiative (CQI) and the Chief Financial Officer Network, both programs that work to identify quality benchmarking and best practices to our health centers.

We are also working towards expanding our partnerships and working with a larger network of stakeholders that includes the public, nonprofit, academic and private partners. At MACHC, we know that community health centers will always have high expectations for quality of care while helping patients overcome barriers to receiving that care. Our job will remain to help our health centers to meet that end and support them in continuing their success in delivering stellar primary care services to our most vulnerable populations in Maryland and Delaware. It is my pleasure to serve our communities in need.

Miguel McInnis
Chief Executive Officer, Mid-Atlantic Association of Community Health Centers