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Letter: Federal funding key to health center programs

In Montana, community health centers such as PureView Health Center specialize in whole-person care. Beginning with well-child visits, CHCs provide healthcare across the lifespan for many Montanans.

Our model of healthcare begins with access. In addition to an open-door policy, CHCs are innovators: 100 percent of Montana CHCs use an electronic health record and 57 percent use telehealth, allowing us to reach as many patients as possible – 110,241 Montanans in 2018.

Access to healthcare also means looking outside the clinic walls to understand the other factors that contribute to poor health: homelessness; legal issues; food insecurity; and/or unemployment to name a few. In Montana, 13,506 people received at least one enabling service at a CHC to overcome barriers to care in 2018. We connect patients to community resources such as housing, job training, and childcare.

CHCs have long enjoyed bipartisan congressional support and we are counting on U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines and U.S. Congressman Greg Gianforte to help prevent the expiration of our funding on Sept. 30. Not only must Congress pass its annual budget for the new year by that date, but it also needs to authorize the continuation of key programs that support CHCs.

We encourage you to call all three members of our congressional delegation to express your support for the critical work happening at PureView and all community health centers across the country.

Senator Tester: (406) 728-3003

Senator Daines: (406) 549-8198

Representative Gianforte: (406) 502-1435

Jill-Marie Steeley,

Executive Director,

PureView Health Center

 

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