Happy National Public Health Week!

At CCI, we believe in and love public health because it saves lives. The connection between the health and wellness of each person and our wider community means one impacts the other. That impact is why people need access to affordable, quality health care. And through access, we encourage healthy habits in our neighborhoods and stop the spread of disease.

Community health centers like CCI support public health by offering everyone an open door to quality care. We provide a judgment-free, safe space that encourages all to visit regardless of whether they have insurance, their immigration status, the language they speak, who they love, or how they identify. All are welcome here.

We’re unique in our services because we understand that many in our community meet challenges to stay healthy due to social, economic, and cultural barriers. As health care providers, we can tell our prenatal patients to eat a more balanced diet or ask parents to bring their kids in for immunizations, but what happens if they can’t afford health-promoting meals or cannot travel to an appointment? Understanding the daily health obstacles our patients face helps us provide better care—and that’s why our full range of services is essential to our neighbors’ health.

We are proud to be the largest provider of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC.) We serve over 34,000 families annually, supporting their nutritional needs through education and the distribution of benefits that they can use to purchase healthy foods. We also partner with like-minded organizations like Hungry Harvest to deliver fruits and vegetables to our prenatal care program participants.

When considering access and how to make it equitable for everyone in the community, it’s much more than just foot traffic or a fancy building—it’s about how neighbors can get to us without issue. CCI is strategically located in areas and communities near public transportation, making us accessible via bus or metro. And at some of our locations, we offer medical, dental, prenatal care, and WIC in the same location to ensure convenience.

We serve many people who arrive in the U.S. from all over the world. In fact, our refugee health program directly supports patients and the community because we’re often the first to introduce the U.S. healthcare system. Those first appointments are critical in helping newly arrived neighbors continue their lives in the U.S. with their health in mind as we provide immunizations, screenings, and behavioral health counseling.

Our mission is to deliver high-quality, accessible care to our community members, leading the way to a more equitable health care system for everyone. That means supporting all of our community, not just our patients. Fostering health and wellness today is how we reach our vision of a healthy and empowered community for generations to come.