Community health centers are closing the gap in care, especially in rural areas where hospitals are closing, but some centers say they are losing staff to hospitals who pay high wages.
A Common Wealth Fund report found 1,368 federally qualified health centers operating in more than 15,000 service sites across the country. These outpatient centers provide a range of services to the most vulnerable patients, including cancer screenings, infectious diseases screenings and substance use disorder care.
In 2023, more than 90% of health center patients had income less than 200% of federal poverty guidelines and over 1.4 million patients experienced homelessness, an HHS report found. That same year, health centers served over 31 million patients, a new record high.
However, health centers are struggling to properly staff clinics. Over 70% reported shortages in primary care physicians, nurses and mental health professionals in 2024. Some health centers said they are losing staff to larger health organizations who can offer greater financial opportunities for practitioners.
Centers reported their top five staff classes and the share of centers who claim shortages of that staff class:
Mental health provider: 77%
Primary care physician: 70%
Nurses: 70%
Enabled services providers: 69%
Advanced practitioners: 49%