My City Wellness Summer 2022

A Week of Healthcare & FUN at Hamilton Community Health Network

FLINT – Every August, Ham ilton Community Health Network (HCHN) celebrates National Health Center Week with thousands of community health centers across the nation. is year, health centers will celebrate 50 years of providing preventive and primary care ser vices to nearly 29 million people throughout our communities. While the approach of each health center is community-based and local, collec tively they are the backbone of the nation’s primary care system. Com munity health centers lower health care costs to the tune of $24 billion a year, reduce rates of chronic disease and stimulate local economies. Here in Genesee County, HCHN is a unique community health center that has been built on the vision of its founders and its current leader Clar ence Pierce, CEO. Expanding access to quality, a ordable and comprehen sive healthcare has been the model for Hamilton since opening its doors back in the early 1980s. Since then, the vision has been to o er as many services as possible in one location to make it convenient for the patient. “Many people do not have the lux ury to make multiple trips for health care,” explained Pierce.“ erefore, we began to combine multiple types of services in one location to make it easier for citizens to receive care.”

All but one Hamilton clinic provide multiple disciplines of care. Dental North is the only clinic that does not o er more than one service; whereas the other clinics o er a range of services including medical, plus some o er OB/GYN, urology, vision, pediatrics, dental, phar macy, X-ray, labs, behavioral health and more. Innovation is another unique characteristic of HCHN facilities. Physicians look beyond medical charts to address factors that cause poor health, such as income, homelessness, substance use, mental illness, poor nutrition and unemployment. “We are a critical piece of the healthcare system and collaborate with our local partners to improve health outcomes for our neighbors who are medically vulnerable,” Pierce stated. During National Health Center Week, HCHN cele brates everything they do. “We celebrate our staff, our patients, our community, our friends and our supporters,” Pierce added. Plus, it’s a week filled with healthcare, raffles, prizes, food, necessities, vac cines, screenings and FUN! ®

Clarence Pierce, CEO HCHN

The tentative schedule for the week looks like this: Healthcare for the Homeless Day Tuesday, August 9 Senior Health Day Wednesday, August 10 Family Fun Day Friday, August 12 If you or your organization would like to support the HCHN mission and National Health Center Week initiatives, become a sponsor

by calling Tim McCarron at 810.406.4912 ext 4955.

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