What is a Community Health Center?

At Maine's Community Health Centers (CHCs), care starts with listening. Our CHCs take time to get to know their patients – their lives, their needs, and their goals – and they build their care around that. This approach is about something bigger. As the largest primary care network in Maine, and the country, CHCs are united by a shared commitment to care that’s grounded in relationships. That’s why the care people receive at CHCs feels familiar and personal. It’s care that’s shaped by trust, built on connection, and delivered by a national movement rooted in every community CHCs serve.

Mission

  • Maine’s Community Health Centers exist in high need communities that are designated as either medically underserved areas or populations.
  • Community Health Centers provide comprehensive primary care to anyone who walks through the door, regardless of health insurance status or ability to pay. They are also providers of choice in their community.
  • Community Health Centers work to integrate other services that keep people healthy, such as behavioral health, dental, and pharmacy services, as well as supportive services that include educational, transitional, and transportation services.
  • Governing Boards for Community Health Centers are made up of no less than 51% of patient/health care consumers. In many areas Community Health Centers are also the largest local employer.

Impact

  • Community Health Centers serve the health care needs of more than 31 million patients in over 14,000 locations across America.
  • Community Health Centers lower overall health care costs, improve the health of their patients and communities, and generate economic opportunities in the communities they serve by providing jobs and training for local people.
  • Taking a local approach to healthcare and combining this approach with an emphasis on comprehensive preventive care generates $24 billion in annual savings to the health care system.

Location

  • Maine’s Community Health Center network spans as far north as Fort Kent, as far south as North Berwick, eastward to Lubec and westward to Rangeley. These service sites serve over 200,000 patients each year. (1 in 6 Maine people).