Hamilton Health Network hosts free wellness events during National Health Center Week

FLINT, Michigan — For years, Hamilton Community Health Network has been committed to ensuring the greater Flint community has access to affordable, quality healthcare. Its dedication to the mission has made Hamilton an integral part of Flint’s healthy, thriving community.

Each year, they participate in celebrating National Health Center Week with a community-wide celebration of free, family-friendly events. This year’s celebration takes place Aug. 4-8, and offers free resources, food, and giveaways. 

“This year, our national theme is 'America’s health centers celebrating 60 years of improving our nation’s health,'” says Clarence Pierce, CEO of Hamilton Health Network. “We’re honoring the legacy of health centers and their continuing role in shaping accessible, equitable health care for all, regardless of ability to pay.”

Hamilton was created in 1982 out of a community need for a medical center to primarily serve the medically underserved population, says Pierce. 

“That is really our targeted market — those who typically find it difficult to access quality, affordable care. We’ve been able to offer that and have been able to expand our program to not only include primary care, but we also have dental service, a vision clinic, two in-house pharmacies, specialty care, and a van in collaboration with the University of Michigan, offering mammograms monthly to our patients free of charge. So we’ve been able to make a fairly significant impact on all the communities we serve — not only Genesee County, but also Lapeer and the Whitmore Lake area.”

Pierce says the celebration’s mission is partly to promote the health center’s many offerings. 

“We want them to be educated about the importance of their health,” he says. “Without good health, there’s not much more we can do. That’s the most important thing you can have in your life.”

Courtesy photoA young attendee wins a bike at one of Hamilton's family-friendly events during National Health Center Week.
Kicking off the celebration is the Hope & Health Day on Monday, Aug. 4, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Center for Hope, located at 812 Root St. This event is focused on supporting unhoused neighbors and anyone experiencing housing instability. 

“We will provide a free lunch, hygiene kits, socks, underwear, and those will be free to the public,” Pierce says. “We’ll also have free health screenings, live music, and hopefully some warm community connections throughout the day.”

Next is the Healthy Harvest day on Wednesday, Aug. 6, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the North Pointe Clinic, located at 5710 Clio Rd. This event celebrates healthy living and encourages wellness education. 

“We’re providing some farm-fresh fruits and veggies,” says Pierce. “Nutrition is really important, particularly for our patient population, because it is difficult to access produce in many of our underserved communities. They’ll tend to result in more unhealthy types of foods with high sugar and high sodium content, so that’s why we try to focus on nutrition and to provide those produce items for our patient population.”

Rounding out the celebration is the biggest event of the week, which is Family Fun Day on Friday, Aug. 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Hamilton's Main Clinic, located at 2900 N. Saginaw St.

“This is what we consider to be the main event for the week, and we’ve been doing this for a few years now,” says Pierce. “We’ve seen more and more community residents come out and celebrate with us. It’s a joyful event, and we have a lot of games and things for the kids, face painting, good food like burgers and hot dogs. We do a lot of giveaways for bikes, TVs, and gift cards. We’ll also have some entertainment and other fun activities right there at our main campus.”

Pierce encourages the community to come out and celebrate health and wellness during this year's National Health Center Week.

To learn more about Hamilton Community Health Network and its services, visit: hamiltonchn.org