To The Editor:
There are wholesale changes happening in our country if you haven’t noticed. Some people are concerned, angry, frustrated, confused and scared. Other people are happy, excited, focused and empowered. The current Administration has quickly polarized an already divided country. That is not good for our physical or mental health, it does nothing to solve or address homelessness, access to health care, job creation, poverty, opioid addiction and other types of substance abuse. This boiling cauldron known as leadership transition does not address mental health needs, hunger, inequality, immigration issues or public education investment. This unscripted mess incites hate, intolerance, bigotry, sexism, racism and total mistrust. These changes, these wild allegations, alternative facts, religious and ethnic attacks, scapegoating and intimidation are neither acceptable nor defensible.
As depressing and incredible as some of these changes, appointments and announcements are, I would suggest that all of us, in this Greater Lawrence community, remain focused on the business of community based, comprehensive, inclusive, accessible and affordable health care. There is much to divide our country but what we do at GLFHC, why we do it and who we serve unites us. The next weeks, months and years will inevitably include attacks on the very fabric of the safety net and those who depend so much upon its strength. We must stand even stronger in the face of intolerance and be the consistent advocate and representative of the 60,000 patients and the communities that we serve. I believe we will see more folks in need as benefits are eroded and institutions fail, not less. I know we will not let them down.
This year the Community Health Center (CHC) Program, the Teaching Health Center (THC) Program and the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) are all up for reauthorization in November. This reauthorization process must become our primary focus moving forward. All of us in the GLFHC family are CHC advocates, all of us must be ready, willing and able, when asked, to make the calls, send the emails, and attend the meetings to assure that these programs and services continue. Voices count, the more voices, the more attention. Remember we are speaking for those with no voice, the ones with no options, the ones with the most to lose. I know we are all in this together and I know we will all do the best we can. That is what is so special about GLFHC.
We have spent the last year at GLFHC educating and enrolling staff, board members, and business leaders and have been recognized by the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) as the first Advocacy Center of Excellence in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Our efforts have led to a team of advocates nearly 800 strong. Now, as we face even more serious threats and even greater opportunities, we have to adapt and transform our advocacy efforts to meet them. Our goal will remain unchanged; continuing to encourage even more growth and access to health services while effectively supporting and accommodating the needs of all of our patients and community members.
The Greater Lawrence Family Health Center advocacy team is launching a new program in partnership with our health center colleagues throughout the country. This program will serve as the foundation of an effort to maintain, promote and expand access to health care in the Hispanic communities in the Merrimack Valley, especially in our home city of Lawrence. It is called the Hispanic Advocacy Center of Excellence (HACE). The HACE is designed for health centers like GLFHC, serving largely Hispanic or Latino communities, who wish to include their patient’s and community’s voices in the statewide and national dialogue on the future of health care. The HACE will insure that those individuals who depend upon and support their community health centers have a voice and the opportunity to advocate on behalf of community based access to healthcare.
This is your call to action – We need your voices, we need you to engage in this process and reach out to your representatives in Washington. Let us show you how. Join us in this fight.
For more information contact Gia Angluin – gia.angluin@glfhc.org or go to http://www.hcadvocacy.org/
Respetuosamente,
John M. Silva
President and CEO
Greater Lawrence Family Health Center
