Ahoskie, NC — U.S. Congressman G.K. Butterfield visited the Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center (RCCHC) recently to celebrate National Community Health Center Week and to be a part of Employee Appreciation Day at RCCHC.

Butterfield, an advocate in Congress for community health centers, was praised for his support by RCCHC CEO Kim Schwartz and Board of Directors member Guy Simmons.

"Congressman Butterfield's support of community health centers is vitally important,” said Simmons. “We are very grateful for his present efforts to make it possible for us to provide primary health care to the military veterans in our area as an alternative to their having to use distant and overcrowded VA facilities."

Butterfield, who spoke for about forty minutes in an informal setting to RCCHC employees, praised the employees for their hard work in making RCCHC one of the finest community health centers in the state. He also added some of his views on health care and how it’s affecting the region.

“You all know the importance of providing affordable health care to people in this area,” Butterfield said. “Obamacare is not a perfect bill, but it is moving us in the right direction.”

Butterfield also addressed Medicaid expansion, which he says was expected from the state of North Carolina when the Affordable Care Act was designed; however, he said the state, by choosing not to expand Medicaid, has put its lower-income citizens who fall between Medicaid and subsidy eligibility in a serious bind.

“I’m very upset about it,” Butterfield said regarding the state’s decision to not expand Medicaid. “We’ve got to get mad; we’ve been respectful and diplomatic...and it bothers me that the same person with the same characteristics in Maryland can get assistance where they cannot in North Carolina.”

Butterfield concluded his visit with a tour of the facility, meeting with members of the RCCHC Board of Directors, and by praising federally-qualified community health centers and challenging employees to continue to serve people in the Roanoke-Chowan area by helping them meet their health care needs.

Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center (RCCHC), an FQHC since May, 2005, provides comprehensive primary care and pediatric services with locations in Ahoskie and Murfreesboro (Hertford County) and Colerain (Bertie County) North Carolina. As a designated community health and migrant center, RCCHC’s mission is to provide comprehensive care that reduces health disparities for the Roanoke Chowan area. Pediatric services are offered at RCCHC’s Ahoskie clinic Monday through Friday, and the Hertford County Student Wellness Center which operates during the school year and allows students to seek medical treatment without having to leave campus, reducing absenteeism and in turn keeping kids in the classroom giving them a greater chance to successfully complete curriculum requirements.

Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center is a not-for-profit organization, governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, committed to providing quality service and comprehensive healthcare, regardless of the ability to pay, to meet the needs of the rural community, including the uninsured. RCCHC offers a sliding fee scale for their patients, as well as medication assistance programs. Evening clinics are available at all locations.

For more information about RCCHC, its locations and the services it provides, visit rcchc.org or find them on Facebook and Twitter.