Community Health Centers Specialize in Meeting Community Needs
Rhode Island’s community health centers were conceived locally, and are cultivated
and administered locally.
As community leaders realize a need for health care and apply for federal funding,
successful applicants receive annual grant money from the Bureau of Primary Health
Care. This grant funding is to be used to serve the growing uninsured population.
Community health centers provide numerous benefits to the patients and communities
they serve. They are a health care home for underserved people, improving public
health, reducing the burden on hospital emergency rooms, and providing needed services
such as free immunizations for uninsured children. Through the consumer majority
board of directors, communities are assured a voice in the operation of that health
care home.
Commitment to health care through partnership
In 1993, Rhode Island’s community health centers strengthened their commitment to health care by forming their own health maintenance organization. The health centers participate fully in the state managed care initiatives for Medicaid beneficiaries through Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island (NHPRI). NHPRI specializes in serving populations with complex needs and currently has programs for RIte Care participants, Rhody Health Partners members, children with special health care needs, children in substitute care and adults with disabilities seeking care management through Connect Care.
NHPRI is perennially ranked as one of the best Medicaid health plans in America according to U.S. News/NCQA rankings.
Get more information about Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island.
Outreach & Enrollment Navigator Program
The Rhode Island Health Center Association, under a contract with HealthSource RI and Rhode Island's Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS), manages the state-wide outreach and enrollment network of navigators and in-person assisters. These individuals, employed by 17 agencies in the network, offer application and enrollment assistance to individuals and families who wish to apply for health insurance through Rhode Island's state-based health benefits exchange. All eight of Rhode Island's FQHCs and 9 additional community-based organizations offer this on-site assistance to all Rhode Islanders.
Click here to locate a navigator near you