Inside HRSA, February 2009, Health Resources and Services Administration
 
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First Lady Tours DC Health Center

First Lady Michelle Obama made a Feb. 10 visit to a Washington, D.C., health center, where she met with staff and board members, talked with teenage clients, and read a book to children.

“We are thrilled and honored that Mrs. Obama chose to come here on her first visit as First Lady to a nonprofit organization,” said Maria Gomez, president and chief executive officer of Mary’s Center, a HRSA grantee since 1988. “It was a very exciting day for me and all our staff.”

Mrs. Obama is “absolutely knowledgeable about the work of health centers and the importance of primary health care,” Gomez said. “She was involved with health centers in Chicago.”

 

First Lady Michelle Obama
Photo by: Joyce N. Boghosian

 

As vice president of community and external relations at the University of Chicago Medical Center, Mrs. Obama in 2005 launched a program to encourage emergency room patients to go to existing neighborhood clinics to deal with their health needs, according to an Aug. 28, 2008, story in the Washington Post.

At one point during her 75-minute stop at the health center, the First Lady spoke to a group of 15 teenagers, many of whom have arrived recently in the United States.

“She inspired the teenagers and then encouraged them to tell her their visions for change,” Gomez said. “She talked about the importance of education in her life and urged them to give back to the community.”

Gomez speculated that Mrs. Obama chose to visit Mary’s Center because of its emphasis on serving families and children. “That’s her focus, too,” Gomez said. Mary’s Center also receives Healthy Start funds from HRSA; that program reduces infant mortality in minority communities.

Mary’s Center serves 14,600 participants annually by providing medical care and complementary education and social service programs. About 80 percent of the health center’s clients speak Spanish; other clients are mostly African or African-American.

Read more about the First Lady’s visit at Mary’s Center’s Web site.

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