Community Health Care Association of New York State, Inc. (CHCANYS)

Diabetes prevalence in New York State has doubled since 1994 and is expected to grow; 1.8 million New Yorkers suffer from diabetes and 4.2 million have prediabetes. To address this crisis, the New York Health Foundation (NYHealth) invested in a $35 million diabetes campaign with the goal of reversing the epidemic. The New York State Diabetes Campaign focuses on improving clinical care and patient outcomes; mobilizing communities to prevent diabetes and support diabetes self-management; and promoting policies that sustain comprehensive and effective care for people with diabetes. To advance the Campaign’s clinical goals among community health centers, NYHealth funded the Community Health Care Association of New York State (CHCANYS) to provide its members with the technical assistance needed to improve the care and outcomes of their patients with diabetes.

The Community Health Care Association of New York State (CHCANYS) will focus its efforts in the first year on building the fundamentals of improving diabetes care at community health centers (CHCs). CHCANYS will: 1) assess baseline diabetes clinical indicators for CHCs; 2) assess the capacity of community health centers to manage diabetes; 3) identify national diabetes best practices in CHCs; and 4) identify five CHCs demonstrating best practices around diabetes management and support its National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) recognition for diabetes care.

CHCANYS is a 37-year-old nonprofit association of 56 federally qualified health centers, which provide primary care for more than 1.3 million vulnerable New Yorkers at more than 400 sites. Twenty-seven of New York State’s 62 counties, rural and urban, are home to at least one health center.