BOWLING GREEN — Wood County Community Health Center will host a Backpack and School Supplies Event from 3-5:30 p.m. Thursday to mark National Health Center Week.
The event, organized each year by United Way in Wood County and the Salvation Army in Bowling Green, is part of a national campaign to increase awareness of the ways health centers provide affordable health care in communities. A host of NHCW events that celebrate the ways that health centers are “Rooted in Communities” are scheduled across the country, including health fairs, visits by members of Congress and state officials, back-to-school drives, patient appreciation events, free health screenings and much more.
Wood County Community Health Center is part of a nationwide network of locally-run health centers that serve more than 28 million people nationwide. They are on the front lines of national public health challenges – whether caring for veterans, providing opioid treatment, or responding to natural disasters. They are also a lifeline in remote and underserved communities where the nearest doctor or hospital can be as far as 50 miles or more away. Nearly half of health centers (44 percent) are located in rural communities.
This year’s National Health Center Week will highlight how health centers are at the forefront of a nationwide shift in addressing environmental and social factors as an important part of primary care, reaching beyond the walls of traditional medicine to address the factors that may cause sickness, such as lack of nutrition, mental illness, homelessness and substance use disorders. Health centers’ success in managing chronic disease in medically at risk communities has helped reduce health care costs for American taxpayers.
The mission of Wood County Health Department is to prevent disease, promote healthy lifestyles and protect the health of everyone in Wood County. Our Community Health Center provides comprehensive medical services for men, women and children. We welcome all patients, including uninsured or underinsured clients, regardless of their ability to pay, and we accept most third-party insurance. For more information, visit WoodCountyHealth.org
