Chattanooga, Tenn. – Tennessee State Senator Andy Berke toured the Dodson Avenue Community Health Center today for a personal look at recent improvements and expanded programs at the facility.
Bill Hicks, Executive Director of the Community Health Centers, led the tour through the renovated areas, which included a newly designed space for the Centering Pregnancy Program. Sponsored by a three-year grant from the Governor’s Office of Children’s Care Coordination (GOCCC), the Centering Pregnancy Program empowers and encourages women to practice proper prenatal care so they can deliver healthy, full-term babies.
“Many of the people who receive care here at the Dodson Avenue Community Health Center live in my district,” said Senator Burke, who represents Tennessee’s Tenth District. “I applaud the Center and staff for the work they are doing in our community.”
The Southside and Dodson Avenue Community Health Centers are comprehensive, multi-specialty primary care facilities offering affordable, accessible, high-quality medical and dental care. Operated by the Erlanger Health System, the Centers are partially funded by the Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources Administration Bureau of Primary Health Care.
About Erlanger Health System
The Erlanger Health System has five Tennessee-based medical campuses, including the region’s only children’s hospital and Level 1 Trauma Center, providing the highest level of trauma care. Affiliated with the University of Tennessee College of Medicine Chattanooga, Erlanger is also the region’s only academic teaching center and treats more than a quarter million patients every year.
Participants in the tour of the Dodson Avenue Community Health Center were (from left) George Ricks, Community Outreach; Joanie Gammell, Board Chair; Senator Andy Berke;
Bill Hicks, Executive Director; Cora Lanier, Board Member; and Bill Huskey, Director of Policy for Tennessee Primary Care Association.
