We regularly hear about bold new health-insurance reform proposals that target coverage as a sure fix for what ails our healthcare system. What about access? As a healthcare provider, I see firsthand the critical importance of having a consistent place to go for care — a healthcare home. A healthcare home means having a place to go to treat everyday ailments — the common cold, a headache, or a sore tooth — before these conditions get worse. But, the reality is that 56 million people today don't have that option.

According to a recent report by the National Association of Community Health Centers and the Robert Graham Center, one in five Americans are "medically disenfranchised" or without healthcare options. They live in every state and nearly every county, representing all income levels and all types of insurance coverage — and yet they all share one common struggle: no access to basic healthcare.

Fortunately, there is a solution. Thanks to federally supported Community Health Centers, such as Clinicas Del Camino Real Inc., we proudly serve as the healthcare home for 40,000 users, keeping them healthy and out of hospitals.

Because our healthcare services are accessible and affordable to everyone, regardless of insurance status, patients are able to get treatment before their health conditions become unmanageable. Not only do we save lives, we keep down health costs and ease the burden on hospital emergency rooms, where $18 billion a year is wasted on avoidable visits that could have been treated elsewhere.

We make a difference in the lives of millions by providing not only basic medical treatment but also other enabling services, such as family practice, pediatrics, OB/GYN, internal medicine, cardiology, chiropractic, podiatry, family dentistry, optometry, pain management, psychiatry and behavioral-health counseling. Direct support services include on-site basic laboratory and X-ray services.

Studies show that a healthcare home yields better health and lower healthcare costs, but, more importantly, we see those results day after day in the health outcomes of our patients and the feedback we get from the community.

Our elected leaders in Washington understand the critical role of health centers in protecting and providing for the public's health. This year, Congress passed a historic $207 million increase in funding that will allow health centers to reach out to more people. But, continued federal investment in health centers is critical and could mean an additional 30 million Americans having access to care in a health center by 2015 — nearly twice the number that have access today.

In honor of National Health Center Week 2007 (Aug. 5-12), let's spread the word that one can find a quality healthcare home at a community health center.

— Roberto S. Juarez, is chief executive officer of Clinicas Del Camino Real Inc., which operates full-service medical clinics throughout Ventura County, including Ventura, Fillmore, Ojai, Santa Paula, Newbury Park, Oxnard, Maravilla (northwest Oxnard), and Ocean View (west Oxnard). It also has fully equipped, mobile medical and dental units. Its Web site is www.clinicas.org and its phone number is 659-1740.