FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                 Contact: Amy Simmons 202/309-0338

March 22, 2010                                                                301/347-0476

Florida Health Center Leader Honored at National Conference in Washington, D.C.

Bethesda, MD _ Blake Hall, MBA, Director of Planning and Development for Community Health of South Florida, Inc. (CHI) in Miami, FL, has been honored by the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) with the 2010 NACHC Elizabeth K. Cooke Advocacy MVP Award.   The national award is presented to individuals who went above and beyond in their efforts to ensure that their members of Congress actively supported health centers - or in work toward establishing and expanding grassroots advocacy at their health center or in their state last year.  Hall was honored with the award at the 35th Annual NACHC Policy and Issues Forum in Washington, D.C., an event attended by more than 2,500 health center leaders from around the country.

"Blake Hall has not only demonstrated outstanding leadership in making grassroots advocacy a priority for his health center, he has also made an enormous difference in garnering the support of elected officials in his state," said Marc Wetherhorn, National Advocacy Director of NACHC at the award ceremony held at the Newseum in downtown Washington.  "He has helped set an example for health center grassroots advocacy and encouraged his colleagues to follow his model and make a difference." 

Health centers serve as the health care homes for 20 million people in 7,500 communities and save the health care system an estimated $9.9 billion to $17.6 billion a year - while providing more than $12 billion in economic impact nationwide.  With demand for health centers growing among the medically underserved and uninsured, local, state, and national support for initiatives that support and strengthen their mission is critical - now more than ever. The network of health center grassroots advocates, working in communities across the country to spread the message, help make this key support possible. 

Hall holds a Bachelor Degree in Communications from Georgia Southern University and an MBA from Clark Atlanta University.  He is also a graduate of the Johnson and Johnson UCLA Health Care Executive Program. The NACHC Grassroots MVP Award is named in honor of the late Elizabeth K. Cooke, whose constant effort and unflagging persistence as an advocate for America's Health Centers and health center patients set an example for all health center advocates to follow. 

Founded in 1970, the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance and expand access to quality, community-responsive health care for America's medically underserved and uninsured.  NACHC represents the nation's network of over 1,200 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) which serve 20 million people through 7,500 sites located in all of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam.   

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