Standing up for community health: Institute staff meet with elected officials in Washington D.C.

On February 6, 2025, Institute staff joined advocates from community health centers across the country, as well as organizers from the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), for meetings with elected officials in Washington D.C. Institute leadership, including Dr. Neil Calman, CEO; Dr. Eric Gayle, President of Health Care Services; Cindy-Lou Killikelly, Chief Nursing Officer; Nicole Nurse, Chief Human Resources Officer; and Kate Fahy, Vice President for Planning and Development, attended the meetings and represented the Institute.

Institute staff discussed our work at community health centers and shared how key health care issues affect our patients and communities. In particular, staff highlighted the need for continued sustainable investment in community health centers through the federal health center program and Medicaid. Advocates also presented the extensive cost savings that the community health centers generate through high-quality primary care and social services that prevent unnecessary emergency room and hospital use.

The Institute for Family Health is grateful to our representatives for taking the time to hear about our work to provide essential health care to the community. We would especially like to thank the following elected officials and their staff for meeting with us: Congressmembers Dan Goldman (NY-10), Jerry Nadler (NY-12), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), and Pat Ryan (NY-18).