Bill Text: GA SR170 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Community Health Centers Day; recognize February 10, 2009

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 4-2)

Status: (Passed) 2009-02-10 - Senate Read and Adopted [SR170 Detail]

Download: Georgia-2009-SR170-Enrolled.html

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09 LC 94 0440

Senate Resolution 170

By: Senators Murphy of the 27th, Hill of the 4th, Williams of the 19th, Goggans of the 7th, Tate of the 38th and others

A RESOLUTION

Recognizing February 10, 2009, as "Community Health Centers Day"; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, federally qualified community health centers located in over 125 medically underserved communities provide high quality primary and preventive health care to 256,000 people in the State of Georgia, including over 75,000 Medicaid recipients and 118,000 uninsured, the working poor, a large number of underinsured, elderly, homeless, immigrants, and other vulnerable populations, without regard to income status, cultural or ethnic heritage, or disease conditions; and

WHEREAS, community health centers bring over $42 million per year to Georgia communities, recruit and retain excellent health care professionals where they are most needed, and offer access to a wide range of cost-effective medical and dental services and prescription medicines as well as to health education, nutrition counseling, translation services, community outreach transportation, and support programs; and

WHEREAS, community health centers have a track record spanning four decades of controlling costs, documented in several studies which show that rates of costly emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and specialty care referrals are much lower among health center patients than patients of other providers; and

WHEREAS, community health centers save the Medicaid program up to 33 percent in annual spending per Medicaid beneficiary; and

WHEREAS, community health centers work in partnership with other health care providers, local hospitals, health departments, social service agencies, and health related support services to maximize resources and assure that services are coordinated to improve the health status of the community; and
WHEREAS, Georgia's community health centers and their state organization, the Georgia Association for Primary Health Care, have worked diligently to increase the number of community health centers in Georgia and across the nation and have taken a leadership role in establishing more centers in underserved communities to help resolve this state's health care access problems, demonstrating commendable efforts in continuous quality improvement, reduction of health disparities among the underserved, the implementation of new health care initiatives such as Medicaid managed care and electronic health records, and utilization of the latest technology to improve both operations and delivery of services to more Georgians; and

WHEREAS, community health centers deserve commendation for their valuable contributions in expanding access to health care, their outstanding record of service, and their dedication to improving health care and the health status of all Georgians.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body recognize the foregoing by designating February 10, 2009, as "Community Health Centers Day."

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to the Georgia Association for Primary Health Care.