From HRSA Administrator Tom Engels

As we kick off National Health Center Week, I want to extend my sincere appreciation to health centers across the country for your extraordinary commitment to serving your communities. Thank you for the compassion, dedication, and excellence you bring to patients every day.

From clinicians and nurses to administrators, outreach workers, and front desk staff, health center teams are at the heart of primary care, helping millions of Americans live longer, healthier lives.

Happy National Health Center Week! I look forward to visiting health centers throughout the week and celebrating the incredible impact you make in the lives of patients every day.

Read the press release.

From BPHC Acting Associate Administrator Tonya Bowers

Happy National Health Center Week (NHCW)! Your dedication and compassion truly echo this year’s “Building Innovative Care Where It Matters Most” theme.

Today, we kicked off NHCW by releasing the new 2025 Uniform Data System (UDS) data showing HRSA-funded health centers served a record 32.7 million patients last year, an increase of over 358,000 patients since 2024. As we reflect on the past year’s achievements, I’d like to share a few key highlights from the newly released data.

In 2025, health centers served:  

• 1 in 8 children 
• 1 in 5 people living in rural communities
• 1 in 15 people 65 or older - a nearly 6% increase or an additional +223K patients since 2024 and the fastest-growing age cohort.
• 414,000 veterans   

We encourage you to review the Impact of the Health Center Program for a deeper dive into this year’s data.

To recognize these accomplishments, HRSA awarded Community Health Quality Recognition (CHQR) badges to over 1,100 health centers across the country for excellence in clinical quality. In fact, we saw an 84% increase in health centers receiving a CHQR badge for Preventive Health. This means more adults and children are receiving vital preventive health services and lowering their risk of developing chronic diseases. Learn more about CHQR badge eligibility, criteria, measures, and targets.

Be sure to connect with HRSA social media (Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram) this week for highlights on how HRSA-supported health centers are making great strides in providing high quality, primary health care across the regions.

On behalf of BPHC and on behalf of all health center patients, thank you! Enjoy this week’s celebrations and your accomplishments!   

Tonya Bowers
BPHC Acting Associate Administrator