The work of Michigan’s Community Health Centers is now more important than ever! You have been given a challenge- to serve as the safety net for 
thousands of people who need access to quality health care in very difficult times.
Communicating the impact of CHCs in communities and the lives of patients is one of the most important ways we can continue to build support for critical funding initiatives, expansion of the program and greater access to care for everyone in Michigan.
But, we need your help to do that, and that’s why we are coming to you to share your stories!
Whether you are a patient, provider, board member, staff person or community member we invite you to share how the Community Health Center in your community has impacted you, your family and friends.
Please be sure to include your full name, email address, phone number, the Community Health Center you are involved with and your short story. We welcome your photos and videos as well!
You can email your story and information to dhughes@mpca.net or use the Comment Box below. (Your contact information will not appear on this page for privacy) If you would like to mail or fax in your story you can use one of the following forms: Patient Form, Staff Form, Provider Form.
Thank you for helping MPCA continue to promote Community Health Centers in Michigan!
3 responses so far ↓
Bobby Joyce // June 1, 2009 at 9:32 am |
I serve on the Board of Community Health Centers in Ingham County, Michigan. I got involved with the Health Centers during a time when I was homeless. I was staying in a shelter and the Health Bus would visit every week. Some of the staff on the bus got me involved with the Hope Group which was helping the service providers learn how to work with homeless people. Through that I got to know all the staff and they finally asked me to join the Board.
I was discouraged when I was homeless because it seemed like no one was fighting for homeless people. The staff of the Homeless Clinic was different. They would do all they could for me. If they didn’t see me for awhile they would get concerned and I could tell they were genuinely relieved to see me again.
While I was homeless I learned about the importance of oral health. If your teeth are in bad shape you’ve got infections, you can’t eat right, it affects your whole health. It’s great that the Ingham County Health Centers have an adult dental clinic. The problem is we need more.
Lydia Best // June 1, 2009 at 9:33 am |
In September 2007, after tremendous encouragement and support from the clinic Board and core donors, as well as many community, state, and county organizations, CCC (and actually the greater metropolitan community) was awarded the Federally Qualified Health Center designation. This added strength to the health care safety net in Detroit and sustainability to CCC’s mission to show and share the love of God, as seen in the good news of Jesus Christ, by providing integrated, affordable, and quality health care to those who need it most.
Coming to Mexican Village was an unexpected but exhilarating twist in the road. I always knew that I was called to live and serve in my hometown of Detroit, but this was not the Detroit that I knew. Facing the challenges of learning a new language and culture put a sharper focus on the common needs and mutual strengths that the staff, volunteers and patients all share. It has forced me to remember that if we aren’t really partners – in communication, in decision making, in spreading the financial burden – none of us will truly win.
At the same time, watching a grassroots initiative spread across race, religion, and culture to gain a foothold as a vital community resource shows me what Southeast Michigan can do when we truly work together! I truly cherish the opportunity that God and CCC have afforded me to be a part of this mission.
Mary Rose Forsyth // July 23, 2009 at 10:39 am |
I was so happy to see Dr. Best’s posting about the work Covenant Care is doing in Southwest Detroit. MATEC Michigan is proud to include Covenant Care in our Targeted Clinic program, as they seek to provide desperately needed outreach and care to persons living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS.