[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 152 (Wednesday, August 11, 2021)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 43903-43904]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17252]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 152 / Wednesday, August 11, 2021 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

[[Page 43903]]

                Proclamation 10237 of August 6, 2021

                
National Health Center Week, 2021

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                In 1965, our Nation launched its first community health 
                centers to improve the lives and well-being of 
                Americans regardless of their ability to pay. These 
                health centers were a key component of President Lyndon 
                B. Johnson's ``Great Society'' series of policy 
                initiatives to eliminate poverty and racial injustice, 
                and today serve as the bedrock on which our public 
                health system was built. Today, health centers are one 
                of the largest health care providers in the country and 
                provide high-quality affordable, accessible, and value-
                based primary health care services to 29 million 
                Americans each year--approximately 1 in 11 people 
                across the country. They have also been a vital part of 
                our Nation's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 
                the course of National Health Center Week, we recognize 
                the importance of federally-supported health centers 
                and the role they play as a beacon of strength, 
                service, and care in our communities.

                Health centers integrate medical, dental, and 
                behavioral health care services into a single ``health 
                home'' and consistently yield strong patient outcomes. 
                Health centers also play a critical role in reducing 
                racial and ethnic, geographic, socioeconomic, and other 
                health disparities in the United States. They are 
                invaluable to ensuring that our Nation's underserved 
                populations, especially individuals and families living 
                in poverty, rural communities, and communities of color 
                are able to receive the care they need and deserve.

                Our Nation's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is 
                stronger because of our health centers, and the 
                tireless, dedicated health center employees who 
                continue to deliver critical services such as COVID-19 
                testing, treatment, and prevention services on the 
                front lines. As we ramped up the distribution of COVID-
                19 vaccines over the past several months, health 
                centers, through the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine 
                Program, have vaccinated and built vaccine confidence 
                in millions of Americans from hard-hit and high-risk 
                communities. Two-thirds of individuals vaccinated at 
                health centers so far identify as racial and ethnic 
                minorities. Health centers have also offered greater 
                flexibility during the pandemic by expanding telehealth 
                services to those in need.

                I believe that health care in America should be a 
                right, not a privilege. No one should have to lay awake 
                at night staring at the ceiling wondering what they are 
                going to do to get the care they need or to pay the 
                bills if a family member gets sick. That is why I will 
                do everything in my power to ensure that all Americans 
                have access to the quality, affordable health care they 
                deserve--and the peace of mind it brings.

                In support of that goal, my Administration is committed 
                to expanding health centers and increasing access to 
                their life-saving services. That is why we invested 
                more than $7.6 billion to help health centers prevent 
                and respond to COVID-19 and improve health care 
                services--including over $1 billion for major 
                infrastructure and renovation projects at health 
                centers across the country through the American Rescue 
                Plan. I am also committed to doubling the Federal 
                investment in community health centers to further 
                expand access to care and make strides in our pursuit 
                of health equity.

[[Page 43904]]

                During National Health Center Week, we recognize the 
                importance of health centers and their staff who heal 
                and strengthen our local communities. We salute their 
                dedication and service. As our Nation builds back 
                better, we commit to working together to bring about a 
                stronger, healthier Nation for all.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, by virtue of the 
                authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws 
                of the United States, do hereby proclaim the week of 
                August 8 through August 14, 2021, as National Health 
                Center Week.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                sixth day of August, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-one, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                sixth.
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                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2021-17252
Filed 8-10-21; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F1-P