The idea of community health centers is believed to date back to 1901 when physician Sara Josephine Baker created milk stations in New York City to provide “clean milk” for infants. Thirteen years later the city established its first “district health center” in New York which served 35,000 residents of Manhattan’s lower east side. The staff consisted of one medical inspector and three nurses. In comparison, NOAH serves just under 45,000 patients with over 400 employees today.
In 1915 the program expanded to add four more health centers in Queens. Sadly, the work of these early health centers ended shortly thereafter due to war and political pressures.
Privately funded health centers filled the healthcare gaps from 1916 until the 1960s when the Office of Economic Opportunity established what were initially called “neighborhood health centers”.
The first official community health center opened in 1965 in Dorchester, Massachusetts and is still in operation today as the Geiger-Gibson Community Health Center.
Following this model, community health centers aimed to fight the “war on poverty” began popping up throughout the country. Encompassing educational, legal, dietary, and environmental programs in addition to medical care, these health centers pioneered the concept of integrated healthcare.
Fast forward to 1997, NOAH opened its first health center in Scottsdale. Today, 1,400 health center organizations serve 28 million patients at 14,500 sites throughout the country.
This year marks NOAH’s 25th Anniversary, fittingly bringing us back to our Scottsdale roots as we embark on the new Cholla Health Center. NOAH has come a long way in 25 years and we can’t wait to see what accomplishments the next 25 years will bring.
