Elvin Plank, COO speaking with PACC staff while Booker Thomas, CEO awaits his turn.

Tuesday at the HealthNet Pediatric & Adolescent Care Center, the burrito/nacho bar  from California Connection Catering was served and was delicious!  We may have been cramped in that room, but it was well worth it.  Booker Thomas, our President & CEO, Elvin Plank, our COO, and Larry Flick, our CFO were able to make it, too.  It was great to sit and listen to staff ask questions, make suggestions, and share how things are going at their center.  A lot of the time throughout the year is dedicated toward great service to our community and patients, but this one week out of the year is serving as an excellent opportunity to not just eat good food, but also learn about the needs and celebrate successes of each center.

Melissa Drew of CAFE speaking to Eastside staff.

That same day, HealthNet Eastside Health Center celebrated their staff lunch.  Our newest center, nearly two months old, invited other members of the Far Eastside Neighborhood Center to join in their lunch.  It was awesome to see the other community service providers in the building joining to celebrate National Health Center Week.  It is the community connection that makes our patient-centered medical homes efficient and effective!

CCT and Maternal-Fetal Staff enjoying their lunch!

On Wednesday, we celebrated HealthNet with the Care Center at the Tower & Maternal-Fetal Medicine Center.  What afun group! It was great to see in interaction and camaraderie of these teams.

At our Homeless Initiative Program (HIP), everyone was wearing their shirt!  It was very cool to see because, being an outreach program, often people separate HIP from HealthNet’s community health centers because of the difference in services provided.  But the important thing to remember is that while the services may be different, we serve the same clients and communities.  Without our outreach programs, HealthNet would not be able to boast about the significant wrap-around services provided within our walls.

HIP Staff - full after a delicious lunch!

Each year National Health Center Week sets aside three days to focus on special populations who are often left outside of the mainstream health care system. It was cool that HIP’s celebration actually fell on Health Care for the Homeless Day!

Happy National Health Center Week everyone!  The week isn’t even over, but we are already looking forward to next year!

P.S. More photos can be seen on our Facebook page – check it out!