URBAN HEALTH PLAN, INC.

Thanks to the members of Congress, Senator Roger Marshall and Representative Danny K Davis, to Michaela Brown of the Senate HELP Committee, and to the Community Health Center leaders who spoke at today's Capitol Hill briefing about health center funding. It was standing-room only as speakers described the pivotal role health centers play in making America healthy and the importance of long-term funding for health center stability. Photos clockwise L to R: * Representative Davis and Ollie Idowu of the Illinois Primary Health Care Association * Senator Marshall * Teresa Lovelady of HealthCore Clinic , NACHC's Sonja W. Bachus, MJ; Senator Marshall; and Patrick Sallee of Vibrant Health * Panel: Sallee; Aaron Todd, MHCDS, MPP of Iowa Primary Care Association; Kimberly Mitroka of Christopher Rural Health Planning Corporation; Paloma Hernandez, NACHC Board and URBAN HEALTH PLAN, INC.; and NACHC's Joe Dunn

NACHC is hosting a briefing?on?Capitol Hill next Tuesday, March 11, to highlight the urgent need to pass funding for Community Health Centers (CHCs) before it expires this month. Featured speakers include: Paloma Hernandez, Board Chair, NACHC, President & CEO,?URBAN HEALTH PLAN, INC., New York Aaron Todd, MHCDS, MPP, CEO,?Iowa Primary Care Association Patrick Sallee, President & CEO,?Vibrant Health, Kansas Kimberly Mitroka, President & CEO,?Christopher Rural Health Planning Corporation,?Illinois To RSVP and more details: https://lnkd.in/e62Jhu5u

Did you know that half of all Community Health Center patients rely on Medicaid, with 16 million out of 32.5 million having few other coverage options??Community Health Centers, like Urban Health Plan, help keep healthcare costs down—particularly for Medicaid—by making primary care more affordable and reducing the need for expensive Emergency Department visits. The impact of Community Health Centers is a win for both patients and the entire healthcare system. Read the latest National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) Statement on Medicaid:?https://lnkd.in/e8gVPQwe ?? We're asking for your advocacy to urge?Congress to extend and increase annual funding for Community Health Centers in the next government funding package. Budget negotiations continue in Washington, D.C., with only a few days until?annual discretionary funding expires for Community Health Centers.?At this critical time, we must let Congress know how important health centers are to 32.5 million patients nationwide. Call or email Congress today! ?? Funding Call-In Campaign: https://lnkd.in/enrg75Yz ?? Email Campaign: https://lnkd.in/eBa-9Zgk #UHP4HealthierLives #ValueCHCs

Last week, in a two-part story featured in her?#StreetSoldiers?series, two-time Emmy award-winning reporter LISA EVERS profiled UHP's Community Food Distribution Program and emergency food initiatives, helping to raise awareness about food insecurity in the South Bronx. Sadly, the socio-economic challenges our community members face continue to grow, having a direct impact on health and well-being, and UHP is tackling this issue head-on. In 2024 alone, we distributed approximately $650,000 worth of fresh produce to residents thanks to the support of Councilmember Rafael Salamanca (Bx D17) and partnerships with local community organizations. In fact, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we've distributed over 500,000 pounds of food and fresh produce to residents of Hunts Point and Longwood! The reach and impact of this work are profound. As one local resident shared, “During the entire pandemic, I was never late with my rent. However, my medicine and food suffered. I used to skip meals and only ate one meal a day to survive. This program helped me tremendously.” We acknowledge the fantastic leadership of our Director of Nutrition,?Maggie Milone, MPH, RD, CDN,?and the dynamic efforts of our Food and Resource Coordinator,?Jamine Williams.?In addition, we thank EVERY UHP associate and volunteer involved in these efforts. We absolutely could not do this work without THEM! We are very grateful to Lisa Evers for her brilliant storytelling and for helping to raise awareness about food insecurity in the South Bronx. Part 1: Interviews with Councilmember Salamanca and UHP Chair of Pediatrics, Dr. acklema mohammad : https://lnkd.in/eMzU-DBt Part 2: Interview with Maggie Milone, UHP Director of Nutrition: https://lnkd.in/e3YsS9Ad #UHP4HealthierLives #UHP50 #Bronx

?? We're asking for your advocacy to urge?Congress to extend and increase annual funding for Community Health Centers in the next government funding package. Budget negotiations continue in Washington, D.C., with only nine days until?annual discretionary funding expires for Community Health Centers.?At this critical time, we must let Congress know how important health centers are to 32.5 million patients nationwide. Call or email Congress today!? ? ?? Funding Call-In Campaign:?https://lnkd.in/enrg75Yz ?? Email Campaign:?https://lnkd.in/eBa-9Zgk

Urban Health Plan wishes our Muslim friends a blessed celebration! #UHP4HealthierLives #RamadanMubarak

Please read, like, and share this post written by Kyu Rhee, MD, MPP, CEO of the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC). Community Health Centers ARE INDEED the best, most resilient, and most innovative part of our health system!

As National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) continues its nonstop, relentless advocacy on behalf of Community Health Centers or CHCs (16K+ locations), our patients (32.5 million+ in 2023), our workforce (310K+ staff in 2023), and our funding, it has been a privilege to meet and connect with so many Members of Congress (MOCs). CHCs represent only 1% of all of US healthcare spending ($55B in 2025) while we serve 10% or 1 in 10 Americans (20% or 1 in 5 in Rural America) with affordable, comprehensive, effective primary care for communities of greatest need across our nation. In 1990, there were only 2 MOCs who were physicians and now there are 21 MOCs who are physicians. I have been honored to meet so many of them. The unique perspectives of physician leaders are invaluable as we work to address and improve an essential foundation of our health system, the trust and basics of the physician-patient relationship. Earlier this month, during NACHC's annual Policy and Issues Conference in Washington, DC, I was fortunate to have one-on-one time with Dr. Raul Ruiz before and after he spoke in front of nearly 3K CHC leaders and advocates. Dr. Ruiz was the first Latino to receive 3 graduate degrees from Harvard University (MD, MPH, MPP) and we talked about our shared experience of getting a Master in Public Policy or MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School. As an emergency room physician who worked both in the US (i.e., Coachella Valley Healthcare Initiative and led Volunteer in Medicine and opened a free clinic) and internationally (i.e., he served as Medical Director in Haiti immediately following the 2010 earthquake and received the Commanders Award for Public Service from the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne), Dr. Ruiz (https://lnkd.in/e4YRdHDH) understood and valued the importance of primary care (whose main purpose is to reduce unnecessary emergency room visits and preventable hospitalizations) and CHCs, our nation's largest primary care system, for our country's health. National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) believes that CHCs and the 60 years of BIPARTISAN support from MOCs like Dr. Raul Ruiz are the best, most resilient, and most innovative part of our health system. We stand united with CHCs and BIPARTISAN support from MOCs for and with the patients we have served and will serve as “the best is yet to come.” Please learn more and support CHCs at: https://www.nachc.org. #HealthCenters #ValueCHCs #FundCHCs #WeAreNACHC

Edyth (Edi) (Johnson) Daley, Office Manager of Medical Affairs, Executive Assistant to Chief Medical Officer, closes out #UHPVoices for #BlackHistoryMonth by telling the story of her cousin photographer Bert Andrews, “the historical African American figure who most inspired me.” Bert Andrews documented the modern Black Theater Movement in New York City and was the official photographer for the @Negro Ensemble Company for over 35 years. Before becoming a photographer, he was initially a songwriter, singer, and dancer. He began studying photography in the U.S. Army in the 1950s. During his career, Andrews photographed over 1,000 theatrical productions and later was an apprentice to Chuck Stewart, one of the foremost jazz photographers. In 1985, a fire in Andrews' studio destroyed over 100,000 prints and negatives representing his life's work. For the next three years, Andrews reconstructed part of his collection from prints and negatives in the possession of the artists and theatrical companies he photographed. To Edyth, honoring history during Black History Month means: “highlighting the lives and accomplishments of African Americans that we would not ordinarily hear about.” #UHP4HealthierLives #UHP50

Thank you, Geiger Gibson Program in Community Health, for amplifying the dedication and amazing work being done by #CHCs across the United States and its territories! At UHP we are proud of our 50-year history of continuously improving the health and quality of life of the people we serve by providing quality, affordable, comprehensive, primary, and specialty health care with unwavering compassion and a commitment to excellence! #TheBestIsYetToCome ? #UHP50 #UHP4HealthierLives