What is a Community Health Center?

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 30 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 nearly 210,000 patients each year, or almost 16% of Maine’s total population.