National Health Center Week with Bay Area Community Health

Blog contribution by Bay Area Community Health

National Health Center Week (August 7-13) is an annual recognition and celebration of the accomplishments of America’s health centers. Community health centers serve as a beacon of strength, service, and care for their communities.

Throughout the week, Bay Area Community Health (BACH) took the opportunity to work with, and give back to the community. To kick off the week, in partnership with Abode Services, we were able to assist our local homeless population by providing dental hygiene kits, STD screening kits, and food vouchers for local grocery stores, as well as providing enrollment assistance and information on BACH services available to them.

We also participated in a health fair hosted by Christopher Ranch in Gilroy, where BACH serves as a proud ally to the population of migrant workers, who make up 80% of California’s agricultural workforce. During this event, BACH provided no-cost health screenings such as vision, dental, glucose level, and blood pressure checks. Health education materials, resource information, and cooling towels were handed out as well.

This year, we also saw the return of the BACH Ohana Health Fair, where we caught the health wave with community members in both Gilroy, on August 6 and Newark, on August 13. In partnership with our fantastic sponsors and community partners, we were able to host the two events and provide various health screenings, educational information, and program enrollment assistance. In addition to enjoying live music and dancing performances from local organizations, BACH also gave out some fantastic raffle prizes to the community members in attendance.

Participating in and hosting these events would not be possible if not for the amount of support we receive, both from the Board of Directors, a majority of whom are community members and BACH patients, and from local representation as well. BACH takes pride in the fact that we receive support from both sides of the political aisle, from which legislative support for advocacy and policy priorities has been integral to our success.

This year during National Health Center Week, we also honor those front line providers, staff, and patients who lost their lives during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Here at Bay Area Community Health, we take pride in our providers and staff who have shown constant dedication to the BACH Mission, to deliver exceptional health and social services that improve quality of life for the individuals, families and communities we serve.

Learn more about Bay Area Community Health HERE.