Senator Tom Harkin is continuing his “legacy” tour today with stops in Clinton and Burlington to highlight his work on Community Health Centers.
“It’s something I’ve devoted a lot of my efforts to over the years in my committee — both Health Committee and my appropriations committee — and that’s building more community health centers,” Harkin said during a recent appearance on Iowa Public Radio. “When I started in 1989 we had two in Iowa. Now we have 14.”
Community Health Centers are non-profit clinics staffed with doctors and nurses who provide primary care to uninsured and underinsured clients. The clinics are largely financed by federal and local governments. Harkin was in Clinton this morning for the groundbreaking on Iowa’s 15th Community Health Center. The construction is financed with $3.2 million in federal money.
“We have 85 clinics associated with the Community Health Centers in Iowa,” Harkin said, “and they just do a wonderful job of serving people in rural areas and communities around the state of Iowa.”
On Tuesday, Harkin received a “lifetime achievement award” from the National Association of Community Health Centers.
Harkin is not seeking reelection and his “legacy” tour started in May, with stops at sites connected to work he’s done in congress. Tomorrow Harkin will visit the Lock and Dam on the Mississippi River at Keokuk. Harkin will also be back in Burlington on Thursday to attend the annual picnic for workers at the Iowa Army Ammunition plant. Harkin co-sponsored legislation that provided compensation for workers at the plant who were exposed to radiation and were diagnosed later with cancer.
Harkin served 10 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and for the last 30 years he’s been a United States Senator.