Sept. 12, 2025
The Health Federation of Philadelphia’s Health Center Controlled Network received funding for a new three-year Cooperative Agreement from the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, it was announced in July. That funding, totaling $3,615,000 over three years, covers the period from Aug. 1 of this year through July 31, 2028.
The Health Federation’s Health Center Controlled Network has been in place since 2012. The HCCN provides network-level and individualized technical assistance, training and support, and leverages resources to meet the needs of Federally Qualified Health Centers and Look-Alikes in Pennsylvania. (Look-Alikes meet health center qualifications but don’t receive health center program funding.)
“We are thrilled to welcome Covenant House Health Services (Philadelphia) and Star Community Health, Inc. (Bethlehem) to the Network,” said Holly Nagy Hainsworth, Director of Population Health Initiatives and new Project Director for the HCCN. “We are looking forward to continuing our work with so many dedicated and bright health center teams and to supporting the overall health center mission in new and exciting ways.”
The HCCN consists of 30 Federally Qualified Health Centers and five Look-Alikes, for a total of 243 health center sites that span Pennsylvania — representing small and large health centers in both rural and urban areas. Together, health centers in the HCCN serve nearly 720,000 patients — more than 72% of the health center patient population in Pennsylvania.
At a high-level, the core objectives of the new HCCN grant are:
- Data management and analytics (optimizing clinical, financial, and operations data to improve clinical quality, health outcomes, and operations);
- Interoperability of systems and digital health tools (improving bidirectional interoperability with healthcare providers and other external organizations to strengthen care coordination, reduce unnecessary testing and data duplication, and implement more efficient and effective referral and information sharing processes); and
- Data modernization (supporting the use of FHIR-based applications in areas like patient data exchange, prior authorizations, care coordination, and more);
This cycle, the Health Federation’s HCCN will also provide Network-level and individualized support on Value-Based Care, enabling more effective and broader participation in Value-Based Payment programs, and Artificial Intelligence, supporting guidelines, best practices, and optimization for use of AI-enabled digital health tools.
“With this new round of HCCN funding, we are excited to deepen our support for health centers as they navigate the evolving value-based care landscape, help participants to understand and manage the rapidly growing field of AI-enabled digital health tools, while also continuing to drive positive change around data analytics and systems interoperability,” Hainsworth said.
Led by Hainsworth as Project Director, the HCCN team includes: Suzanne Cohen, Senior Director of Population Health; Jessica Chen, Director of Quality Improvement and Evaluation; Khai Williams, Director of Clinical Informatics; Emma Moulder, Program Manager; and Anoosha Vijjapu, Data Analyst.
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About the Health Federation of Philadelphia
The Health Federation of Philadelphia is a public health nonprofit that promotes health equity for marginalized communities by advancing access to high-quality, integrated, and comprehensive health and human services.
The Health Federation of Philadelphia serves as a keystone supporting a network of Community Health Centers as well as the broader base of public and private-sector organizations that deliver healthcare, public health and human services to vulnerable populations.