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H H S Department of Health and Human Services
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Health Resources and Services Administration

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Bureau of Primary Health Care

The Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) funds Health Centers in underserved communities, providing access to high quality, family oriented, comprehensive primary and preventive health care for people who are low-income, uninsured or face other obstacles to getting health care.

Health Center Program

For more than 40 years, Health Centers have delivered primary health care to patients, regardless of their ability to pay, becoming the essential provider for America’s uninsured. The nation's most vulnerable populations -- people who are homeless, migrant and seasonal farmworkers and residents of public housing rely on the Health Center Program for care.

Health Centers champion preventive care and advance the medical/health home model of coordinated, comprehensive, and patient-centered care, coordinating a wide range of medical, dental, behavioral, and social services.

Recent expansions of the program, including $2 billion provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, are helping more than 1,200 Health Center grantees with more than 7,000 sites nationwide serve more patients, stimulate new jobs, and meet the significant increase in demand for primary health care services among uninsured and underserved people.

Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy) Program

The National Hansen’s Disease Program (NHDP) has cared for people with Hansen’s Disease (leprosy) and related conditions since 1921. The Program provides medical care to any patient living in the United States or Puerto Rico through direct patient care at its facilities in Louisiana, an inpatient program in Hawaii, and 11 regional outpatient clinics.  Currently there are 2,888 patients care for through the NHDP’s outpatient clinics. The Program also provides training to health professionals, and conducts scientific research at the world’s largest and most comprehensive laboratory dedicated to Hansen’s Disease. The Program is the only dedicated provider of expert Hansen’s Disease treatment services in the United States and a crucial source of continuing education for providers dealing with the identification and treatment of the disease in the United States. 

Research conducted by the NHDP has led to the development and implementation of sophisticated cell and molecular biology tools used to study human disease. NHDP plays an integral role in the quest for a more complete understanding of Hansen's disease and translation of basic research findings into an internationally coordinated program designed to improve prevention and treatment.

Lower Extremity Amputation Prevention

Developed by the National Hansen's Disease Program, Lower Extremity Amputation Prevention (LEAP) is a comprehensive program that can dramatically reduce lower extremity amputations in individuals with diabetes mellitus, Hansen's disease, or any condition that results in loss of protective sensation in the feet.

Did You Know?
  • Health Centers cared for more than 18 million patients last year.
  • About 3.4 million of these patients received dental services and 758,000 received mental health care.
  • About 38 percent of health center patients have no health insurance.
  • Health Centers provide primary care, defined by the Institute of Medicine as: The provision of integrated, accessible health care services by clinicians who are accountable for addressing a large majority of personal health care needs, developing a sustained partnership with patients, and practicing in the context of family and community.
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