History of CHCs
Community Health Centers have over a 40 year history in the United States. This history begins with the creation of the Migrant Health Center program which started as a result of the Migrant Health Act, signed in 1962. Migrant Health Centers were established to provide comprehensive primary health care services to migrant and seasonal agricultural workers and their families, including former migratory agricultural workers whose primary employment is no longer in agriculture because of age or disability.
Later, in 1965, neighborhood health center demonstration projects were initiated and subsequently funded by Congress as part of the War on Poverty. By the early 1970s, approximately 100 neighborhood health centers had been established throughout the United States under the Economic Opportunity Act. These health centers were designed to provide accessible, dignified, personal health services to low-income families. Community participation in the organization and a patient-majority governing board were primary features of the Health Center model.
When the Office of Economic Opportunity was eliminated, oversight of the health centers was transferred to the Public Health Service. Additionally, the centers were mandated to broaden their scope so that comprehensive primary and preventive services were provided to all who came through the doors, not just low-income individuals. In 1975, the Community Health Center Program was established as authorized, under Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act and continues to remain under this Act.
