Community Development

In 2001, President made a substantial commitment to expand the health centers program, proposing a five-year initiative to increase federal funding to support 1,200 new and expanded health center sites to serve an additional 6.1 million patients. Since the beginning of Fiscal Year (FY) 2002, with the investment of over $ 9million, the expansion initiative has enabled an additional 26 new and expanded health center sites within Maryland and Delaware to reach out and serve over 58,000 new patients.

Even with the remarkable financial commitment being made at the federal level, there are still a growing number of communities that need safety net services. The number of communities needing a health center far exceeds available resources. For instance, available funding for FY 2002 and 2003 allowed only one out of three qualified applications for new health center sites to be approved for funding. In FY 2004, less than one in ten of qualified applications were approved. In the latest initiative announced by President Bush to put "a health center in every poor county in America ", as a part of his FY 2006 budget for the health centers program, the President’s request includes $26 million to fund 40 new health centers in high poverty counties.

The Mid-Atlantic Association of Community Health Centers is committed to the Presidents initiative to increase access to healthcare and reduce disparities through development of new community health center access points. MACHC is dedicated to building and strengthening programs in the delivery of community-based health care to the medically underserved and underinsured. Community Development provides assistance in the development of applications and in supporting new health center development. Entities interested in developing a community health center in the states of Maryland and Delaware are encouraged to contact the Community Development Manager at 301-577-0097.

Online Guide to Community Health Center Development

The Mid-Atlantic Association of Community Health Centers (MACHC) has developed a web-based toolkit (link) for those who wish to pursue the development of their own health centers or build upon the level of services that are currently provided in already existing facilities. The tool-kit is designed to allow access to a range of information relating to health center development that is both interactive and extensible. For new-starts, this straightforward and comprehensive guide covers all the aspects of Community Health Center (CHC) development, from basic facts to valuable methodologies, providing numerous resources for an in-depth understanding of the community health center process.  For existing CHCs, this site serves as a useful reference guide for improvement and expansion as well as a handy resource for Federally Qualified Health Center related issues.