From Deep in the Heart of Primary Care

Ellen Lawton, Esq.
Executive Director, National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership

The National Association for Community Health Centers held its annual Expo in Chicago this week, and MLP was on the agenda, with a presentation on Health Center Adoption from MLP Boston, Ropes & Gray and Dorchester House Multi-Service Center. R&G partner Michelle Garvin’s presence and presentation moved more than a few workshop participants to pepper us with questions about how to bring MLP services to their health center – from Wichita, Kansas, to Yakima, Washington, to Cook County, Illinois – they immediately saw the value and the potential of the model for their communities.

Our friends in the community health center world have a lot on their plate right now given their central role in the health care transitions that have a foundation in providing primary care for vulnerable populations across the country. It was gratifying to see the Obama administration’s deep support so visible at the conference including speeches by HHS Secretary Sebelius and new head of Medicaid Cindy Mann – as well as a hilarious President Obama impersonator who nailed it.

Whirling from poster session to workshop to plenary, the themes resonated deeply with MLP activities, values and aspirations. Conversations with conference participants – a rainbow hue of health center administrators, board members, physicians, nurses and case managers – inevitably led to comments about social justice, vulnerable populations, and challenges in serving poor communities with dignity and respect. I was reminded again and again of the joy and exhaustion at annual legal aid conferences. Then, on the last night, NACHC members rolled up the carpets and had a crazy dance party. Legal aid and community health centers – separated at birth?