Neighborhood Health Providing a Primary Care Medical Home to Newly Arriving Afghan Families
September 22, 2021
Neighborhood Health, a non-profit federally qualified health center (FQHC) serving Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax County is providing primary care to newly arriving Afghan refugees in Northern Virginia. We are partnering with the three local resettlement organizations – Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington – Migration and Refugee Services, Ethiopian Community Development Council, Inc., and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service – to facilitate the entry of patients into ongoing care.
On Thursday September 16, Neighborhood Health dedicated its morning clinics to serve recent Afghan arrivals referred by partner agencies. Our staff provided school physicals and vaccines for children, adult physical and refugee exams, women’s health care including prenatal care and family planning, as well as vaccines, labs, medications, dental care, and assistance with Medicaid applications for those who were eligible. Each family left with a gift card to purchase food and other necessities, as well as backpacks and school supplies for their school-aged children.
Neighborhood Health has already served 200 newly arriving refugees and is facilitating entry into care for another 100 patients. We expect to become the ongoing primary care medical home for these patients and will continue to accept additional referrals from our resettlement agency partners.
“Our singular focus at Neighborhood Health is providing access to care for underserved and vulnerable communities in our service area, including newly arriving Afghan refugees,” said Dr. Basim Khan, Neighborhood Health’s Executive Director. “I am incredibly grateful for the commitment of our staff and our partner agencies in helping to facilitate their entry into care.”
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Neighborhood Health’s mission is to improve health and advance health equity in Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax by providing high quality primary care regardless of ability to pay. Last year the FQHC provided care to more than 40,000 patients at 13 clinics across Northern Virginia. Neighborhood Health’s patient population is predominately low-income, uninsured, and people of color.
For More Information: Jane Downing Knops jknops@neighborhoodhealthva.org (571) 384-7623
