When I immigrated to Washington, D.C. with my mother in the 1960s, minority communities, both native and immigrant, were concentrated in discreet enclaves that largely lacked information about or access to the city's health system. Decades later, minority populations continue to suffer from ghastly health disparities.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's Office of Minority Health reports that:

• Mexican Americans, who make up the largest share of the U.S. Hispanic population, suffer in greater percentages than Whites from overweight and obesity, two of the leading risk factors for heart disease (2007).
• African American mothers were 2.3 times as likely as non-Hispanic white mothers to begin prenatal care in the third trimester, or not receive prenatal care at all (2007).
• Non-Hispanic whites received mental health treatment 3 times more often than Hispanics, in 2005.
• A national survey found that employed Hispanic adults were twice as likely to have untreated dental caries as Whites (2010).

As a young nurse in the late 1980s, pervasive minority health disparities and the compounding needs of these communities compelled me to found Mary's Center , a Federally Qualified Health Center now serving more than 24,000 individuals in the DC-metropolitan area annually. For more than two decades, Mary's Center has aimed to reverse health disparities by ensuring access to quality health care and family services that support the development of healthy families and strong communities.

In 2011, 86 percent of the more than 24,000 individuals served by Mary's Center  represented minority groups. However, we owe our impressive health outcomes to our social change model , a strategy linking health care to community-based support services, while helping family members reach their education goals.

Some of our successes include:

• Almost 97 percent of babies born to mothers enrolled in prenatal care at Mary's Center had healthy birth weights. This figure compares to 87 percent in D.C. and 90 percent nationally.
• Seventy-six percent of children receiving care at Mary's Center received the recommended childhood immunizations by age two. This compares to the national rate of 67 percent.
• Almost 63 percent of patients with hypertension who received care had their blood pressure under control as of their most recent visit; this compares to 55 percent nationally.

Mary's Center has found that individuals who are healthy and feel supported in their communities become better learners and are motivated to achieve greater economic stability. We have observed that stable families place more emphasis on the educational achievement of their children, thus strengthening the well-being, and therefore health, of the next generation.

This April, in light of National Minority Health Month, I urge policymakers to safeguard funding for community health centers. I celebrate the dedication of the Mary's Center staff and our countless partners, and look forward to the day when access to affordable health care is not an obstacle for our region.