Opening New Paths of Investment for Health Centers

The evolving health landscape and demand to transform have brought health centers to explore multiple paths of financial support. The increasing roles of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and insurance plans, in making investments in primary care, are opening new paths of financing and advisory services to support community health center (CHC) expansion and transformation. Both are playing leading roles in supporting health center engagement in initiatives and funding. This workshop will highlight two health center relationships with these financial partners: (1) the collaboration of Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC), a national CDFI, and Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, a New York health center committed to delivering comprehensive care and advocacy for the LGBTQ community; and (2) CareOregon that built and piloted the Primary Care Investment Fund (PCIF), a structured loan-forgiveness program that gives primary care clinic organizations the opportunity to access funding for investing in operational infrastructure improvements and new physical capacity. Health centers, including Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center, have used PCIF funding to implement improvements that ensure growth capacity, improve access and quality, and enable innovation in addressing social determinants. Over time, these partnerships have encouraged knowledge sharing and boundary-spanning activities including more integrated care management, membership development, and linked strategic planning.