CHCANYS 2023 Statewide Hybrid Advocacy Week was a powerful and inspiring week of advocacy! The advocacy week kicked off with CHCANYS’ beloved Patient Voices Panel featuring patient speakers from community health centers across the State sharing the positive impacts their respective health centers had and continue to have on their lives. The event recognized Marie Lam, an outstanding and fierce consumer advocate for community health centers from Charles B. Wang Community Health Center (learn more about Marie Lam here), with the Dorothy Kartashevich Award. Poet, advocate, and patient speaker M.A. Dennis sums up the Patient Voices Panel and the power of community health centers perfectly in his poem CHCANYS which can be listened to here.
Following the panel was CHCANYS’ Celebrating Our CHC Workforce event in which Dr. Michael Curry, CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers joined us in celebrating the community health center for the dedication in upholding the health center mission of ensuring that all New Yorkers are able to access high quality affordable primary and preventive care whenever they need it while motivating them to continue to do the important work ahead. The event showcased the presentation of the Dr. Jack Geiger Award to Dr. William Borgos, a dedicated, compassionate, and selfless physician from Hudson Headwaters Health Network (learn more about Dr. William Borgos here).
The week advocacy culminated in an in-person Capitol Day and Rally to Save 340B in Albany, New York where health center advocates, patients, and allies descended upon the Capitol to advocate for community health center priorities. During this day, CHCANYS honored Allison Jones-Harding, an inspiring and stirring advocate from BMS Family Health and Wellness Centers, with the Catherine Abate Award.