Community Health Centers in the Dakotas, 2018.

Community health centers (CHCs) are a critical component of the healthcare safety network. The modern era of CHCs began in the mid-1960s although their origin can be traced back as far as the first two decades of the 20th century. Over 24 million people receive their healthcare in CHCs. North and South Dakota are home to nine centers and provided care to nearly 110,000 medical and dental patients in 2017. All CHCs use a uniform data set to report annually on demographics, scope of practice, and clinical measures to assure that they remain true to their original mission to provide quality healthcare to the most vulnerable of our population.