08/24/2026
Senior leadership team members representing the Community Health Center of Richmond, Inc. (CHCR), including Constance Brown-Bellamy, Chief Strategy Officer, and Robert Robinson, Senior Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, attended the National Association of Community Health Center's Annual CHI - Community Health Conference held in Las Vegas, Nevada. CHI is the premiere gathering of the nation’s Community Health Centers, the largest network of primary care providers in the nation. Among the sessions offerings was a moderated panel featuring CHCR CEO, Dr. Henry Thompson entitled, "Bridging Communities Through Partnership with the Divine Nine to Advance Health Care for All."
This session explored how NACHC’s advocacy, training, and technical assistance (T/TA) initiatives can align with D9 community engagement structures to address persistent barriers in preventive care, chronic disease management, and non-clinical factors of health. Participants learned about successful D9–FQHC collaborations such as CHCR's Brothers For Mothers Breastfeeding Education Initiative and existing infrastructure for community engagement and partnerships with selected Alumni and Collegiate Chapters from one of the nation's oldest Black fraternal organizations. Partnerships such as these serve to amplify outreach during national health observances, voter registration drives, and local health access campaigns. This session also highlighted strategies for co-developing responsive education, volunteer engagement, and advocacy activities that extend the reach of CHCs into populations with historically limited access.
