I couldn’t believe I went most of my adult life without learning about Community Health Centers! My first thought was “Why isn’t this vital health resource common knowledge for everyone in the US?” Like so many people, I’d gone through periods of my life when I did not have health insurance and went without regular checkups, annual screenings, dental cleanings, or to update my eyeglasses prescription. I once even went to an ER for a sudden illness that otherwise should have been a doctor’s visit.

As an Internet marketing professional, I determined that CHCs were difficult to find unless you already know what you’re looking for. Even an online search specifically for “community health center near me” returns results that mix CHCs with other medical offices and any health resource with “community” in the name. Search queries to find affordable self-pay medical care return a confusing hodgepodge of telehealth services, chain store walk-in clinics, even cheap monthly “plans” that aren’t actually health insurance.

I began to informally survey anyone I could ask, “Do you know what a Community Health Center is?” NO ONE DID. Not even a group of nursing students—but they were all eager to find a gynecologist they could afford on a student’s budget. Soon, people started contacting me about their neighbor facing expensive dental work, their friend who needed a pediatrician for her kids, a relative who was struggling to afford his prescriptions, a co-worker trying to get by with a crack in an eyeglass lens. I even heard from someone who had insurance but couldn’t afford the copays for some needed services.

It is deeply upsetting to me that even routine healthcare in the world’s wealthiest nation can be too costly for many people and treatment for medical conditions can literally be financially ruinous. I’ve created CHCaDoc.com to help EVERYONE EVERYWHERE in the US to know that nonprofit Community Health Centers are always an option for themselves, their family, their friends, and anyone seeking high-quality, affordable healthcare from caring, inclusive providers, committed to improving the quality of life in the communities they serve.

Now I like to say, “Need healthcare? Everyone can CH ‘SEE’ a Doc!”
—Dagny Kight