Every year, Community Health Centers across the country celebrate our accomplishments during National Health Center Week, held the 2nd full week in August each year. Across the US, over 9,000 Health Centers such as Blue Ridge Health serve over 25 million patients each year. In North Carolina, 41 community health centers operate 221 sites and serve almost 500,000 patients each year. There is much to celebrate!

This year, we have decided to celebrate our work in two main ways – by showing our appreciation to all of our staff for the amazing work that they do, and by inviting elected officials to see our sites and learn about our work. Our CEO, Dr. Richard Hudspeth, will be traveling to many Blue Ridge Health sites during this week and personally expressing his gratitude at special employee appreciation events.

We are celebrating the week in other ways as well! This includes a blood drive at our Chimney Rock Road location in Hendersonville on Tuesday August 15th, and a special Healthcare for the Homeless event at 7th Ave on Thursday, August 17th.

Here's a short list of Blue Ridge Health's recent accomplishments:

• Operating 17 sites across seven counties in WNC;
• Producing an estimated $10 million in annual health system savings locally;
• Reducing unnecessary hospitalizations and visits to the emergency room;
• Treating patients for a fraction of the average cost of one emergency room visit;
• Providing over $15 million in charity care for local patients in need.

If you'd like to learn more about how you can help celebrate the Community Health Center cause, reach out to info@brchs.com!