Neighborhood Health Hosts HRSA Leadership for National Health Center Week and Grant Announcement
Alexandria, VA – The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Administrator Carole Johnson and Associate Administrator Jim Macrae visited Neighborhood Health to announce a new grant to increase access to cancer screening and highlight the critical role that community health centers play in ensuring access to primary health care. Neighborhood Health is a non-profit, community health center that has provided primary medical, dental, and behavioral health care to Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax County for over 27 years. Neighborhood Health provides care to more than 41,300 low-income, uninsured and underinsured individuals.
Ms. Johnson and Mr. Macrae took a tour of Neighborhood Health’s Richmond Highway clinic in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County where they provide primary medical care for children and adults, dental care, behavioral health care, optometry, on-site labs, and medication access assistance at a new onsite pharmacy. They also participated in a roundtable with Neighborhood Health leadership, clinicians, staff, and patients to learn about current challenges and successes including the topics of workforce development, cancer screening programs, and mental health.
Ms. Johnson announced new funding to improve access to life-saving cancer screenings in underserved communities of which Neighborhood Health is a new grantee. She also highlighted National Health Center Week and new data that shows that community health centers served almost 32.5 million patients in 2023, a record-breaking number. 1 in 10 people in the U.S are health center patients.
Ms. Johnson commented, “We appreciate the chance, during health center week, to celebrate how much primary care matters and to come to a model health center like Neighborhood Health to see up close the way you have integrated resources.”
Neighborhood Health has grown from providing care to 1,500 patients at one clinic in 1997, to serving over 40,000 patients at fifteen clinics in 2024, including 16,220 without health insurance.
