For this Assignment, you will examine one type of health care setting established specifically for populations: Federally Qualified Health Centers

Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs)

For this Assignment, you will examine one type of health care setting established specifically for populations: Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). FQHCs are government-funded, state-run facilities designated to meet the needs of specific groups of people including low-income populations. An FQHC is a reimbursement designation from the Bureau of Primary Healthcare and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. This means these facilities are contracted to be the primary care providers for Medicaid and Medicare members.

FQHCs were established as a means of ensuring care for low-income populations who struggled to find primary care physicians who would take uninsured and Medicaid-eligible patients. Ideally, all settings should provide the same type and quality of care, without regard to population. FQHCs were, in fact, established to decrease disparities of care. Like any type of health care providers, however, FQHCs may differ from each other within a state and from other types of providers as to their ability to provide care that is “separate but equal” (Kelleher & Gardner, 2016).

As a health care professional, it is important that you are aware of various health care provider types and settings and what they offer to populations and individuals. For this Assignment, you will research three FQHCs and complete a template with information on relevant characteristics of the populations they serve and their ability to provide continuity of care.

Reference

Kelleher, K. J., & Gardner W. (2016). Are FQHCs the solution to care access for underserved children? Pediatrics, 138(4). doi:10.1542/peds.2016-2479

To Prepare:

Review the Week 9 Assignment 1 Instructions provided in this week’s Resources.

Consider the following:

What is an FQHC?

Who are the most likely people to visit an FQHC?

Who are the providers?

What is the providers’ background and motivation to work for an FQHC?

Conduct an online search of the FQHCs in your state or region.

For this Assignment,

Complete the provided Week 9 Assignment 1 Template using information gathered from research on FQHCs in your state or region. Be sure to include the following information:

Template

Identify three FQHCs in your state or region.

Complete all columns related to specific characteristics of the FQHC (e.g., name, location, urban/rural, specific population challenges, job titles/positions offered)

Identify any relevant characteristics, such as socioeconomic status (SES), demographics, transportation options for patients, and other information on these locations that may affect population health.

Short Answer

Explain in a few paragraphs how FQHC services affect continuity of care as it pertains to specific population health outcomes.

By Day 4

Submit your Assignment.

Submission and Grading Information

To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:

Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK9Assgn1+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.

Click the Week 9 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.

Click the Week 9 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.

Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK9Assgn1+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.

If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.

Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.