Berks Community Health Center Recognized as Health Center Quality Leader for Third Consecutive Year

Berks Community Health Center Recognized as Health Center Quality Leader for Third Consecutive Year

For the third year in a row, Berks Community Health Center has been recognized by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as a Gold Health Center Quality Leader—an honor awarded to community health centers ranking in the top 10% nationwide for overall clinical quality. With more than 1,400 Federally Qualified Health Centers across the country, earning Gold is a remarkable accomplishment. Achieving it three years running highlights BCHC’s exceptional commitment to meeting the healthcare needs of our community since its founding in 2012.

Mary Kargbo, BCHC President and CEO, said, “Words cannot express how proud I am that we have earned this recognition three years in a row. This is an award every single one of our staff should be proud of, because we earned it through their daily hard work caring for every patient who walks through our doors. Our mission is to provide exceptional patient-centered primary and preventative care to all residents of Berks County regardless of their ability to pay and this recognition shows we are living that mission at a high level.”

 Mrs. Kargbo’s recognition of her staff is echoed by other members of the BCHC leadership team. “What can I say, we have an amazing team that is driven to care for our patients and the community,” added Dr. Karen Wang, BCHC’s Chief Medical Officer. “We do this work because we want to help people. This recognition from HRSA is deeply appreciated and we are honored. The recognition that means even more comes in the form of smiles and words of gratitude from our patients, who do the hard work of trying to care for their own health despite many challenges. This award belongs as much to them as to us. We are all in this together.”

This award is part of the Community Health Quality Recognition (CHQR) program, recognizing health centers with badges for their success. In addition to earning a Gold Health Center Quality Leader, BCHC earned four additional badges:

• National Quality Leader for Behavioral Health – Recognizes health centers that meet or exceed at least two of three national benchmarks, which include achieving a depression remission rate of 18% or higher at twelve months, conducting depression screenings with follow-up plans for at least 85.8% of patients, and providing Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) services to at least 5% of all patients.

• Preventative Health – Recognizes health centers that meet or exceed national targets in at least five of ten key preventive care measures. These measures cover areas such as childhood screenings, cancer screenings, dental care, weight management, tobacco cessation, and depression screening, reflecting a strong commitment to proactive, comprehensive patient care

• Improving Healthcare Access – Recognizes health centers that expand their reach and enhance services. To earn it, centers must either achieve top clinical quality recognition, show significant improvement in clinical quality measures, or increase the number of patients served—especially in areas such as mental health, substance use treatment, vision, dental, or enabling services

• The Advancing Health Information Technology (HIT) for Quality Badge – Recognizes health centers that use technology to expand care and improve outcomes. Criteria include offering telehealth services, securely sharing clinical information with other providers, engaging patients through digital tools, and collecting data on patient health-related needs.