Still Learning 13: The History and Role of Federally Qualified Health Centers in Addressing Barriers to Health Care

This course will take place on Tuesdays, June 10 and 17, 1:00-3:00 p.m. at the Mercer Community Center, with Greg Nycz.

Register to participate for free in this four-hour course!

Learn from Greg Nycz, Chief Executive Officer of Family Health Center of Marshfield, Inc., about the history of federally qualified health centers (FQHC) and how they developed in order to address medical underservice as part of a national movement to improve our nation’s health care system.  Students will also learn how the mission embraced by all FQHCs led Family Health Center to work to restore primary care and pharmacy services in Mercer, Wisconsin.

The topics covered will include:

• The origin of the community health center movement along with migrant health centers, homeless health centers and public housing health centers.
• The federal legislation, which initially authorized the programs and later consolidated them under one authority.
• The growth of the community health center movement over time, and the legislation which established federally funded community health centers as Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), bestowing upon health centers special payment under Medicare and Medicaid as well as special pharmaceutical purchasing arrangements, accelerating the growth of community health centers across the nation.
• The role and impact of Federally Qualified Health Centers in addressing unmet health needs in rural America, as well as supportive efforts like the National Health Service Corps to assist FQHCs in attracting the workforce necessary to support their mission.
• Some basic information on the role of the State in supporting its health centers, as well as a brief discussion on the impact of consolidation and private equity in our health care system and the challenges that presents for FQHCs.

Requirements: Students should have an interest in the health care system and the problems many communities and individuals face in accessing health care.  A listing of books that address the history of the community health center movement will be provided for those interested in learning more about the topic.

There is no charge to attend this course, but registration is required and space is limited. Registration will end when the limit is reached.

We recommend signing up at least two weeks ahead of class to ensure class fills and to prevent cancellation.

Instructor: Greg Nycz

Offline Registration: Download PDF Registration Form, complete and mail in with payment.

Registration Questions? Contact us or call (715) 862-2032 or (715) 476-2881.

Registration Issues/Troubleshooting: If you are registering with one email address for two or more people, please register each person individually (i.e. do not register all at once, but add students one at a time to checkout). If you continue to have difficulty or have another question, please contact us.

Course Cancellations: Students are encouraged to register at least 2 weeks before the beginning of any Fe University course. A course with less than 4 students 2 weeks before the start date may be cancelled at instructor/FeU discretion. If you’re interested in a class, please sign up early! Thank you.

All courses in our series Still Learning After All These Years are priced at a discount thanks to a generous donation from the Northern Wisconsin Mental Health Foundation.