TABLE 1—

Examples of 10 Essential Public Health Services Carried Out by Federally Funded Health Centers

Public Health Services20	Examples of Health Center Activities
1. Monitor health status to identify community health problems.	Work with state department of health to coordinate an interface that will send immunization data from health center’s electronic health record system to state immunization registry, to increase the electronic exchange of records and aid providers in tracking immunization rates.
	Conduct annual community needs assessments in partnership with local health department and a state health task force.
	Utilize community- and citywide data provided by local and state public health departments to determine areas of focus for health and social needs.
2. Diagnose and investigate health problems and health hazards in the community.	Collaborate with state, city, and private agencies to identify and address health problems resulting from infectious diseases among homeless populations.
	Test for blood lead levels among patients and refer families to deleading programs or new housing.
3. Inform, educate, and empower people about health issues.	Employ bilingual (English–Spanish) CHWs to coordinate care for high-cost Medicaid patients with chronic conditions, providing patient education about disease management, treatment plan development, appointment scheduling, assistance in navigating the health care system, family-centered support, and addressing social determinants of health.
	Address disparities in diabetes affecting racial/ethnic minorities through a diabetes clinic, group medical visits, case management, and health education; provide services for multiple language groups; provide health screenings and outreach in public housing developments for diabetes prevention and control, healthy eating, and exercise.
	Participate in county health fairs and provide blood glucose screening, blood pressure screening, and health education outreach.
	Provide education and health promotion in homeless shelters and at community events, on a variety of public health concerns, such as nutrition, exercise, smoking cessation, health insurance, advanced directives, early prenatal care, child passenger safety seats, and domestic violence.
4. Mobilize community partnerships to identify and solve health problems.	Organize the clean-up and redevelopment of local rivers, to increase water quality and safety, encourage healthy behaviors such as physical activity, and promote the economy through job creation; partners may be environmental organizations, government agencies, researchers, business owners, and other community organizations.
	Form a state collaborative to address health, safety, and environmental justice among nail salon and cosmetology workers; partner with local community organizations, educational and research institutions, and health advocacy groups to engage in policy advocacy, research, and community outreach and education.
	Partner with local restaurants and grocery stores to identify healthy food items on menus and store displays.
	Collaborate with local farmers and growers to organize a farmers’ market to make fresh produce accessible to consumers and to promote healthy eating.
5. Develop policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts.	Coordinate care with the local health department to ensure that there is no duplication of services or competition for revenue streams; lease space in the health department’s facilities and provide family practice, oral health, and behavioral health services on-site. Formal agreements and policies clarify which services will be provided by each entity to maximize services to residents.
	Create a policy subcommittee to develop and advocate for policies and legislation for healthier/green nail salon programs and safer workplace standards.
	Assist state health task force to develop policies for walkable communities and local health objectives (which parallel the Healthy People 2020 national objectives).
6. Educate on laws and regulations that protect health; advocate for, review, and evaluate legislation; facilitate compliance.	Provide testimony, advocacy, and education on legislation related to mandatory booster seats for children and oral care for pregnant women.
7. Link people to needed personal health services and ensure the provision of health care when otherwise unavailable.	Work with local and state health departments to promote and provide vaccinations in nonclinical settings (e.g., WIC clinics, day care centers, fire stations, elementary and middle schools). Initiative targets low-income populations to increase immunization rates among children and adolescents.
	Partner with other health care providers to create a coordinated safety net system providing comprehensive health care to low-income, uninsured county residents. Primary care, specialty care, medication assistance, laboratory and diagnostic services, inpatient and outpatient hospital services, case management, and health coaching are provided at no or low cost to members.
	Provide services in 8 Asian languages for a predominantly Asian and Pacific Islander patient population.
	Establish a Case Management Department to coordinate care for pediatric, adult, and perinatal patient populations; enabling services to ensure access to care include transportation and translation services.
8. Ensure a competent public health and personal health care workforce.	Establish a charter school to provide college preparation as well as a health care–related vocational degree, starting in middle school. Graduates will be trained as emergency medical technicians, contributing to the future workforce pipeline.
	Work with state leaders to develop a certification program for CHWs and to facilitate a billing mechanism for CHW services; organize health workforce summits, manage student and resident rotations, and implement health workforce recruitment activities in local schools.
9. Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population-based health services.	Conduct annual patient satisfaction surveys to evaluate health care services and identify areas of improvement.
	Establish a Process Improvement Department tasked with improving access, quality, and effectiveness of care, modeled on Toyota’s lean production system.
	Institute a Plan, Do, Study, Act model of quality improvement, with monthly committee meetings to identify areas of improvement, development and testing of improvement plans, and program evaluation. Hire in-house, full-time data analyst to monitor patient diagnoses, test results, and outcomes through electronic health records, to inform resource allocation and evaluate service effectiveness.
	Report monthly outcomes related to clinical quality indicators and standards of care for primary care, eye care, oral health, behavioral health, and chronic disease management.
10. Research for new insights and innovative solutions to health problems.	Foster strong relationship with local university to perform research and program evaluation. Research initiatives take a community-based participatory research approach.
	Establish in-house Research Department and institutional review board to review research proposals from internal staff and external researchers.

Note. CHW = community health worker; WIC = Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.