Aug. 6, 2025
The celebration of National Health Center Week from Aug. 3-9 offers an opportunity to honor the critically important year-round work done by health centers across the nation.
Besides highlighting the work done by community health centers, National Health Center Week is a prime time to rally public support for community health centers, while also telling the story of local communities that benefit from the comprehensive and cost-effective care provided by health centers.
The theme for National Health Center Week 2025 is America’s Health Centers: Celebrating Past, Present, and Future. Community health centers mark National Health Center Week through a variety of events (see the events scheduled in Pennsylvania here) and Focus Days (Staff Appreciation, Patient Appreciation, Health Conditions Focus, Population Focus, and Partner Appreciation Day among them).
The Health Federation of Philadelphia serves as a keystone organization supporting a network of community health centers. Fifteen community health centers in Southeast Pennsylvania are Health Federation of Philadelphia member organizations, and most of those have multiple service delivery sites.
In addition, Health Federation is a Health Center Controlled Network (HCCN) that provides support on health information technology, data analytics, quality improvement and population health to 35 Pennsylvania FQHCs, including most of our members and additional health centers across Pennsylvania.
“On behalf of all health centers associated with the Health Federation of Philadelphia, I am delighted to express our gratitude for the exceptional support we receive,” said Mary H. Kargbo, President/CEO of Berks Community Health Center and chair of the Health Federation’s Board of Directors.
“Under Natalie's leadership, HFP's expert staff provides us with outstanding and up-to-date technical assistance in information technology,” Kargbo said of Natalie Levkovich, the Health Federation’s Chief Executive Officer. “This support enables us to leverage the latest innovations and best practices, ultimately enhancing our ability to deliver high-quality care to our patients. We appreciate the dedication and expertise of the HFP team and look forward to continuing our partnership."
According to the National Association of Community Health Centers, nearly 1,500 federally supported community health centers across nearly 16,000 communities serve more than 32.5 million patients annually.
Health centers, also called Federally Qualified Health Centers, provide care to all patients, regardless of their ability to pay. Health centers increase access to primary care by reducing barriers such as cost, lack of insurance, distance, and language for patients.
Community health centers are supported by the Health Federation in multiple ways, by enhancing health center access to information, technical assistance, program development and resources. The Health Federation advocates for health centers and serves as a forum for regular discussion of emerging policy, funding, reimbursement, compliance, quality and other issues affecting health center interests.
“Developing and delivering innovative, effective, tailored shared services for health centers is at the heart of Health Federation's mission,” Health Federation CEO Levkovich said.
One specific Health Federation program offering such support is the Health Federation’s Health Center Controlled Network, which has been in place since 2012. The HCCN provides network-level and individualized technical assistance, training and support, and leveraging of resources to meet the needs of Federally Qualified Health Centers and Look-Alikes in Pennsylvania. (Look-Alikes meet health center qualifications but don’t receive health center program funding.)
The HCCN is made up of 30 Federally Qualified Health Centers and five Look-Alikes, which together serve nearly 740,000 patients—more than 70% of the health center patient population in Pennsylvania.
This month, the Health Federation learned that the HCCN was awarded a new round of funding by the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services covering Aug. 1, 2025, through July 2028.
Additional support for member community health centers from the Health Federation includes integrating behavioral health into primary care, support for quality improvement on specific healthcare issues including diabetes, hypertension, cancer, infectious disease and substance use disorder, and workforce development and support.
“The shared vision and common purpose that is reflected in the decades-long partnership between Health Federation and Community Health Centers underpins our commitment to meeting new challenges and opportunities in this dynamic healthcare environment,” Levkovich said.
“Through collaborative development and adoption of progressive practices in both clinical and business operations, health centers will continue to be a model of leadership in community primary care and population health.”
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About the Health Federation of Philadelphia
The Health Federation of Philadelphia is a public health nonprofit that promotes health equity for marginalized communities by advancing access to high-quality, integrated, and comprehensive health and human services.
The Health Federation of Philadelphia serves as a keystone supporting a network of Community Health Centers as well as the broader base of public and private-sector organizations that deliver healthcare, public health and human services to vulnerable populations.