Jackson Hinds Comprehensive Health Center

About Us:

Central Mississippi Civic Improvement Association, Inc. (CMCIA), d/b/a Jackson-Hinds Comprehensive Health Center, was incorporated in October 1970 as a nonprofit 501c(3) organization to engage in planning and development of comprehensive health services for residents of poor, largely non- White, communities in Jackson, Mississippi and surrounding areas.

Jackson Hinds Comprehensive Health Center (JHCHC) is the largest community health center in Mississippi. Since its inception, JHCHC has grown from a "one-bus-and-Sunday school-classroom" operation to become a multi-site, multi-disciplinary provider of health services in Hinds, Warren, and Copiah counties. Jackson- Hinds one of only two federally qualified health center (FQHC) in the state operating a clinic for the homeless and the only FQHC operating a HUD housing complex for low-income elderly and disabled residents.

A seventeen member Board of Directors governs JHCHC. Its members represent civic and religious organizations, homeless persons, homemakers and residents of medically underserved communities that utilize center services and programs. Throughout its thirty-two year history, the Board of Directors, management and staff of JHCHC have delivered services consistent with its mission statement: To provide low cost, quality, family-based health care and social services to people who may not otherwise have access to them.

A $16 million per year operation, JHCHC has an annual economic impact of approximately $32 million on the community. It employs over 180 health professionals throughout its three county service area, purchases good and services from many local vendors and suppliers and serves as a training site for undergraduate and graduate students in various health care disciplines. Furthermore, JHCHC saves community resources by providing patients with more effective, cost-efficient care and reducing inappropriate use of local emergency rooms.

As the largest provider of primary health care services to the poor, uninsured and underserved population in central Mississippi, the prime objective of JHCHC is to eliminate disparities in health care access for these groups, which often fall between the gaps of private insurance and personal income.