About RIHCA - Who We Are
Since, 1972, the Rhode Island Health Center Association has been the voice of community
based primary care health programs. Focusing on Rhode Island’s Community Health
Centers, the Association plays a vital role in educating federal state and local
policymakers about issues relating to health care and the role of the community
health centers in the health care continuum.
The Association supports the health centers in their efforts to provide every Rhode
Islander with high-quality health care regardless of their ability to pay. RIHCA
has ten organizational members, eight of whom are Section 330 Federally Qualified
Health Centers (FQHC). The remaining members include an island health center and
a FQHC lookalike. Primary care services are available in 27 member locations across
the state.
What we do
RIHCA has a long and accomplished history of providing support to the community
health centers. Over the past thirty-eight years, the Association has witnessed
the emergence of the health center movement and has supported the development and
expansion of health centers throughout RI. During this period, the needs of the
health centers have changed in response to their communities and to the overall
health care environment, and consequently, so has the Association’s response to
the health centers.
The Association serves as the state’s primary care association and provides leadership
in the areas of chronic care collaboratives, emergency preparedness, recruitment
and retention of staff, outreach and enrollment, and public policy. In addition,
the Association provides ongoing training and assistance to its members to support
their continued role as the only public primary care infrastructure in Rhode Island.
RIHCA is constantly reviewing the needs and performance of the health centers to
assess the priority areas in order to ensure their ability to continue to provide
and expand safety net services.