National Health Center Week is Aug. 5-11.

Clinic Ole fills a vital role in Napa County.

Our elected state and national officials have developed and are considering passing into law bold and innovative new health care reform proposals. Their commitment to improving access to care is particularly encouraging to those of us who provide medical services to members of our community who are uninsured and underinsured.

As health care providers, we see firsthand the critical importance of having a consistent place — a medical home — for people to get regular care. “Medical home” means an established place to see a health care provider for everyday ailments — respiratory infections, skin infections, tooth aches, asthma, high blood pressure — before these conditions worsen. Yet in reality, too many Californians do not have medical homes.

Federally supported, nonprofit community health centers such as Community Health Clinic Ole contribute to our communities by serving as the medical home for more than 18,000 Napa County patients, 58 percent of whom are uninsured. Our clinics provide preventive and primary care to keep people healthy and out of hospitals. Clinic Ole is a member of the Redwood Community Health Coalition, a network of 15 community health centers in Napa, Sonoma, and Marin and Yolo counties operating 28 sites of care and seeing more than 450,000 patient visits annually.

Preventive medical care and promoting healthy lifestyles are the foundation for healthy communities. The well being and economic viability of any community depends on comprehensive, affordable and accessible health care for all of its citizens. Community clinics make a difference in the lives of our patients and our communities by providing cost-efficient, high quality, culturally competent health care services to people regardless of their ability to pay.

By making our health care services accessible and affordable to those with or without health insurance, people are able to get needed treatment before their health conditions worsen and ultimately become more costly. Not only do we improve quality of life for our patients, but community health centers also control health care costs and ease the burden on local hospital emergency rooms. Every $1 million of uncompensated care in emergency rooms could pay for the primary care of 3,000 people in community clinics for an entire year.

This year, Clinic Ole celebrates its 35th anniversary of providing accessible, affordable, quality health care to the medically underserved of Napa County. During National Health Center week, please join us in supporting health care reform that recognizes and addresses the critical role that our health centers fill in keeping our communities healthy.

(Moore is medical director of Community Health Clinic Ole and lives in Napa.)