FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Affordable Care Act funds to enhance quality of care at community health centers
More women to be screened for cervical cancer
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced new grants that will improve the quality of care at community health centers and ensure more women are screened for cervical cancer. The grants will help 810 community health centers become patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) and increase their rates of cervical cancer screening.
"Our health centers are committed to providing high quality health care services and today’s awards help continue these efforts," said Secretary Sebelius.
The patient-centered medical home is a care delivery model designed to improve quality of care through better coordination, treating the many needs of the patient at once, increasing access, and empowering the patient to be a partner in their own care.
Today’s awards will provide assistance to 810 health centers as they make the practice changes, such as improved care coordination and management, that are necessary to become patient-centered medical homes. The awards will also support health centers’ efforts to increase the percentage of women screened for cervical cancer.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 12,000 new cases of cervical cancer and more than 4,000 deaths will occur across the United States in 2012 as a result of this preventable disease. Patients who receive their health care in a patient-centered practice have been shown to receive a higher rate of preventive services, including cervical cancer screening.
