Achieving health equity takes the work of many, and over the years, District of Columbia Primary Care Association has woven a network of community health centers that are on the front lines of providing care in their neighborhoods.One of our greatest strengths is the ability to forge alliances between diverse and disparate groups, break through barriers, work to solve difficult problems, and collaborate effectively to convince local officials to act on our agenda of change.
These health centers are our partners, and their work is both integral to, and imperative for, crafting a better health system for all. Because we take a coalition-based approach to our work, DCPCA is in close and constant contact with our community health center members, who are involved in shaping the agenda for all of our programs, based on need and constant challenges to sustainability.
Despite substantial investments in coverage by local government through Medicaid and the DC HealthCare Alliance, more than half of DC residents still live in areas federally recognized as lacking adequate access to care. Particularly in this time of economic downturn, community health centers are struggling to meet the high demand for services and struggle to provide quality care that is deserved by all.
With 14 community health center partners, including 5 Federally Qaulified Health Centers and one “look alike,” providing services at over 48 sites in the District of Columbia, DCPCA is working to strengthen and sustain a strong and effective safety net system for all DC residents. With an emphasis on quality improvement, DCPCA has begun to see the dramatic effects of cultural transformation, and our health centers are now seeing the resulting improvements in provider morale, streamlined communication, and a stronger sense of teamwork across disciplines within health center organizations.
DCPCA works extensively with local government, academic research institutions, hospitals, managed care organizations, and advocacy groups. One of our greatest strengths is the ability to forge alliances between diverse and disparate groups, break through barriers, work to solve difficult problems, and collaborate effectively to convince local officials to act on our agenda of change.
DCPCA members include:
Bread for the City
1525 - 7th Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 265-2400
Bread for the City is a private, nonprofit organization providing free, comprehensive services including medical care, social services, legal assistance, food, and clothing to more than 10,000 vulnerable DC residents each month. Bread for the City offers an atmosphere of dignity and respect, recognizing that all people share a common humanity and that all are responsible to themselves and to society as a whole.
Carl Vogel Center
1012 - 14th Street NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 638-0750
The Carl Vogel Center is a nonprofit organization that provides multidisciplinary and integrated health care that responds to the existing and emerging community needs of people living with HIV/AIDS. Currently, people with HIV/AIDS can receive these services at the center: case management, nutritional counseling, mental health counseling, complementary therapies (acupuncture and massage), treatment adherence education, and access to a treatment resource library and computer lab.
Children’s Health Project of the District of Columbia at THEARC
1901 Mississippi Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20020
(202) 436-3060
The Children’s Health Project of DC serves the primary care medical needs of children living in some of DC’s most impoverished communities. The project serves permanently-housed families in Anacostia in Southeast, where the children and youth often experience a high degree of socioeconomic, environmental, and biological risk factors that compromise their health and give rise to developmental delays and disabilities.
Community of Hope
2250 Champlain Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 232-9022 / -9091
For 30 years, Community of Hope has worked tirelessly to improve the health and quality of life for low-income, homeless and underserved families and individuals in the District of Columbia. Our holistic range of programs – from health care and housing with supportive services to educational opportunities and spiritual support – provide hope and stability to the adults and children who need these services.
Family Health and Birthing Center
801 - 17th Street NE
Washington, DC 20002
(202) 398-2007
The Family Health and Birth Center, the Healthy Babies Project, and the United Planning Organization’s Early Childhood Development Center are three partners that form the DC Developing Families Center. Together, these three organizations pursue a collaborative model in order to meet the holistic needs of the families we serve, regardless of ability to pay. This collaboration and the design of the umbrella organization embody FHBC’s philosophy of multidisciplinary care through health promotion, disease prevention, and health care that is provided in a social context. Since 2000, several thousand families have been served by the collaboration and statistically significant decreases in childbirth disparities have been documented and reported.
Family and Medical Counseling Service,Inc.
2041 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE, Suite 303
Washington, DC 20020
(202) 889-7900
Family and Medical Counseling Service, Inc. is a nonprofit, community-based, and community-oriented organization that was incorporated in May 1976, and has been located east of the Anacostia River since 1977. Their mission is to promote the emotional and physical health of families and individuals, regardless of income and social status, and maximize their quality of life.
La Clínica del Pueblo
2831 - 15th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 462-4788
La Clínica del Pueblo is a bilingual, bicultural, community health center that provides comprehensive care to the Latino community. La Clínica’s holistic services combine primary care, mental health and substance abuse services, HIV/AIDS prevention, social services, interpreter services, and community health outreach. More than 50 percent of La Clínica’s patients have less than a seventh grade education, and 90 percent of their clients are uninsured and under the federal poverty level.
Mary’s Center for Maternal & Child Care
2333 Ontario Road NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 483-8196
For over 20 years, Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care continues to build better futures through the delivery of health care, education, and social services. Mary’s Center embraces culturally diverse communities to provide them with the highest quality of care, regardless of their ability to pay, while continuing to save lives and create stronger communities – one family at a time.
Perry Family Health Center
128 M Street NW, Suite 050
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 682-3840
Providence Hospital’s Perry Family Health Center offers a full range of quality primary care and other services for all members of the family including prenatal care, pediatrics, adolescent care, and adult care including geriatrics. Specialty services include behavioral health care for counseling and treatment; diabetic education; podiatry; and ear, nose, and throat care. The health center is located in the historic Perry School Community Services Center.
Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington
1108 - 16th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 347-8500
Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington protects and advocates for the right of every individual to make responsible reproductive choices. Planned Parenthood also provides comprehensive reproductive health services, teen pregnancy prevention programs, family planning, breast and cervical cancer screening, mammograms, sexually transmitted disease testing and treatment, HIV/AIDS testing and counseling, colonoscopy and menopausal treatment throughout the DC metropolitan area.
So Others Might Eat (SOME)
71 O Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 797-8806
SOME exists to help the poor and destitute in DC -- particularly the homeless and elderly. Their ministry is primarily one of hospitality, and they strive to serve anyone in need that comes their way. The goal is never to pass judgment, but to nourish, support and, when need be, to challenge. The mission is twofold: first, strive to meet the needs of the poor and homeless through immediate services such as food, clothing, and medical care; second, work to empower clients through substance-abuse rehabilitation, job training, and housing programs so that they can eliminate their cycles of poverty and dependence.
Spanish Catholic Center
1618 Monroe Street NW
Washington, DC 20010
(202) 939-2400
The Spanish Catholic Center was founded by the Archdiocese of Washington in October 1967, to provide services to low-income and limited English proficient immigrants in the areas of education, health, and social needs. Its principal purpose is to assist the Hispanic community of the DC metropolitan area in the process of adaptation and integration into North American society.
Unity Health Care, Inc. (main)
1220 - 12th Street SE, Suite 120
Washington, DC 20003
(202) 715-7900
Unity Health Care serves individuals and families in all eight Wards in the District through its network of medical and social services that reach homeless people, those under the custody of the DC Department of Corrections, and other DC residents. Working on a sliding fee scale, Unity provides each patient with a primary care provider and referrals to specialists when needed. More than 70,000 residents received services from Unity more in more than 320,000 visits in 2006. Columbia Road Health Services merged with Unity in July 2010.
Whitman-Walker Clinic
1701 - 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 745-7000
Established in 1978, Whitman-Walker Clinic is a nonprofit, community-based provider of health care in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Through two sites in the District of Columbia, the clinic offers primary medical and dental care; mental health and addictions counseling and treatment; HIV education, prevention, and testing; legal services; and medical adherence case management. Whitman-Walker Clinic is committed to meeting the health needs of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community and people living with HIV/AIDS. The Washington Free Clinic staff and clients joined Whitman-Walker Clinic in January 2007.
