Blog 8/1/25

Equitas Health Celebrates 2025 National Health Center Week – 60 Years of Improving Our Nation’s Health

COLUMBUS, OH – Equitas Health is proud to join the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) in celebrating National Health Center Week from Aug. 3-9, 2025. The annual event highlights the essential role that community health centers play in improving public health and providing Americans with an equal opportunity for health.

Community health centers like Equitas Health provide comprehensive primary care services to people who have been left or kept out of traditional healthcare settings. Community health centers are the nation’s largest primary care network, delivering care to 32.5 million people.

The theme of this year’s celebration is: “America’s Health Centers Celebrating 60 Years of Improving our Nation’s Health.” Across the country, community health centers join the celebration through a host of scheduled events, including resource fairs, health screenings, and visits by local, state, and national leaders.

Ahead of the event, Equitas Health met with numerous congressional offices across the Ohio delegation, and advocates discussed key policy issues of importance to community health centers, including:

• protecting Medicaid, which provides coverage for nearly 16 million health center patients;
• funding HIV treatment and prevention programs, which face a proposed $1 billion cut in FY 26;
• addressing the primary care workforce shortage, which affects nearly 100 million people annually;
• ensuring continued coverage for telehealth services, which expires in September 2025; and more.

Regarding the agency’s continued work on Capitol Hill, Rhea Debussy, PhD (she/her), director of External Affairs at Equitas Health said, “Pandemic-era telehealth flexibilities – which have dramatically increased access to care – are set to expire at the end of September. Equitas Health continues to work across Ohio’s congressional delegation on this important issue, and ahead of National Health Center Week, we urge bipartisan action from Congress.”

Here in Ohio, Equitas Health will host an open house at the community health center and pharmacy in Columbus’s King-Lincoln Bronzeville neighborhood on Monday, August 4, 2025 from 5 to 7 p.m. At the event, community members will be able to:

• tour the health center and pharmacy,
• learn how to become a patient,
• learn more about PrEP for HIV prevention,
• pick-up a free COVID-19 test kit courtesy of Columbus Public Health (CPH), and more.

Sharing excitement about this year’s event, Rob DuVall (he/him), director of Events at Equitas Health, said, “Across Ohio, thousands of people trust Equitas Health to join them on their healthcare journey. We look forward to showcasing the foundation of this trust at the King-Lincoln Community Health Center & Pharmacy.”

With a mission to make high-quality, affordable care available to everyone, community health centers save lives on the front lines of our nation’s most pressing public health challenges. Equitas Health exemplifies this leadership in Ohio with the continued fight against HIV/AIDS, emergent viruses like COVID-19, and public health emergencies like mpox outbreaks.

Reflecting upon the role of pharmacists in addressing public health challenges, Nick Saltsman, PharmD, RPh, AAHIVP (he/him), chief pharmacy officer at Equitas Health said, “Pharmacists do so much more than dispensing medications – we provide testing, counseling, and trusted guidance. Pharmacists and medical providers in community health centers work together to help the people we serve reach their healthcare goals.”

While community health centers serve 10% of the US population with life-saving services, they account for roughly 1% of total annual healthcare spending. The primary care offered by community health centers doesn’t just save lives – it saves money.

Despite sixty years of proven success, community health centers face ongoing federal funding challenges, including recent cuts to Medicaid, grant funding delays, and other proposed cuts to public health programs. More than ever, community health centers, like Equitas Health, will rely on the invaluable contributions of donors and volunteers to increase access to care in the communities they serve.