FAITH RENEWED: 2024 IMPACT REPORT

FROM Bethany Blackburn, Chief Executive Officer

Although Pittsburgh saw one of the first federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) open in the late 1960s – “FQHC” is still an unfamiliar term in this healthcare city. This, even though FQHCs make up the largest network of primary care services nationwide. The first community health centers - originally called “Neighborhood Health Centers” – have their roots in the Civil Rights Movement. The visionary community activists and reform-minded physicians who founded the earliest health centers believed that they could fight poverty and empower communities with health and opportunity. North Side Christian Health Center (NSCHC) was founded in 1993 by three physicians who fully embraced that vision, and convinced community partners to see it too. Today, NSCHC, formally an FQHC since 2008, is carrying forward that founding mission: fighting for health equity, addressing social drivers of health, and mobilizing resources to uplift communities and improve access to opportunities for all.

After three long years of navigating a global health crisis, there was an overwhelming amount of community support for NSCHC in 2024. This was acknowledged at this year’s annual fundraiser gala, themed “Faith Renewed.” NSCHC was renewed by staff, providers, and members of the Board of Directors who chose to stay with NSCHC and passionately carry out its mission; it was renewed by patients who keep coming back for care; it was renewed by local foundations who chose to support NSCHC with projects from modernizing the elevator to upgrading IT servers and expanding clinical services; it was renewed by multiple professional consultants who helped NSCHC with strategic planning and architectural designs for a new medical department; and it was renewed by organizations who supported interpretation services for non-native English speakers and the development of a community health needs assessment.

There are currently about 1,400 FQHCs nationwide, with 15,000 sites serving over 30 million people. NSCHC is proud that it has served its neighborhood for over thirty years, and that annually, it provides medical care, dental care, and behavioral health care to almost 4,000 patients. NSCHC provides health care to all people, regardless of religious beliefs, ethnic or cultural background, race, sexual orientation, gender, disability, age, or insurance status (including no insurance).

If you are just getting to know NSCHC, I hope you will stay engaged and feel impassioned to support its mission today and in the future. If you have been with us for a long time, please keep helping us and help others. Your engagement, your encouragement, and your on-going partnership have renewed our faith. NSCHC’s mission, facilities, and services would not be possible without you.

“...but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Isaiah 40:31

Bethany Blackburn, MBA
Chief Executive Officer