Health center program - the muslim community & health center of wisconsin (MCHC) was founded in 2004 with a mission of strengthening the community and increasing the wellbeing of local residents in…

The Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration awarded the Muslim Community and Health Center of Wisconsin Inc. $1.3 million under the Health Center Program (CFDA 93.224) on August 1, 2026.

MCHC delivers culturally and linguistically appropriate primary care and behavioral health services to Milwaukee's refugees, low-income residents, minority communities, and immigrants, including populations from South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. The organization operates a health center and the Sakina Senior Center, and provides educational programs and resources for refugees. The service area encompasses 33 Milwaukee ZIP codes with significant need: nearly 40 percent of residents live below 200 percent of the federal poverty line, more than 7.5 percent are uninsured, and 253,011 low-income individuals receive no health center services. Over 88,000 residents were born outside the United States, and more than 52,000 speak a language other than English or Spanish at home. MCHC's multilingual and multicultural staff, many of whom are themselves immigrants, address barriers including transportation, religious needs, and navigation of unfamiliar systems.

The award period runs through July 31, 2027, with place of performance in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Health Center Program funds health centers under Section 330(e) of the Public Health Service Act to improve health in medically underserved communities through comprehensive, high-quality primary care services and may support new service delivery sites and evidence-based models to expand access.

Health center program - the muslim community & health center of wisconsin (MCHC) was founded in 2004 with a mission of strengthening the community and increasing the wellbeing of local residents in southeastern wisconsin. In 2008, MCHC became a nonprofit agency offering culturally and linguistically-appropriate primary care and behavioral health services for milwaukee's refugees, low-income residents, minority communities, and immigrants, including those from south asia, southeast asia, the middle east, and north africa. In addition to its health center, MCHC operates the sakina senior center and provides educational programs and resources for refugees. MCHC's guiding principles are based on the islamic values of compassion, kindness, peace, and diversity. MCHC serves 33 milwaukee area ZIP codes: 53110, 53129, 53132, 53154, 53172, 53202, 53203, 53204, 53205, 53206, 53207, 53208, 53209, 53210, 53211, 53212, 53213, 53214, 53215, 53216, 53218, 53219, 53220, 53221, 53222, 53223, 53224, 53225, 53227, 53228, 53233, 53235, and 53295. In this service area, nearly 40% of residents are living below 200% FPL, more than 7.5% of residents are uninsured, and 253,011 low-income individuals are not served by any health center, indicating needs that far outstrip the current capacity of milwaukee health centers. Many health disparities exist, especially around chronic disease and behavioral health. Furthermore, critical gaps remain for milwaukee's immigrants and growing population of burmese, afghan, and other refugees, whose cultural and linguistic needs can be difficult for other safety net providers to meet. Over 88,000 service area residents were born outside the US, and more than 52,000 speak a language other than english or spanish at home. These individuals face many barriers to care, including transportation, religious needs, and navigation of unfamiliar systems. MCHC addresses these needs through its multilingual and multicultural team, many of whom are themselves immigrants from the same countries of origin as MCHC's patients and trained to care for those with language and cultural barriers. Directly employed staff speak urdu, punjabi, hindi, arabic, burmese, rohingya, malay, ukrainian, somali, serbian, spanish, polish, russian, and german, with additional contracted community-based translators to meet the needs of its extremely diverse patient population. To increase its ability to meet these needs, in 2022, MCHC was designated as a health center program look-alike (LALCS46445). In 2023, MCHC's health center served 2,428 unduplicated patients with services including comprehensive primary care services for all ages, integrated behavioral health services and psychiatry, nutrition, physical, occupational, and speech therapy, and specialties like podiatry, cardiology, and neurology. IT provides this care from a single service delivery site at 803 W. Layton avenue in milwaukee, WI 53221. In 2024, MCHC added dental services to scope. MCHC also has been contracted by the state of wisconsin to offer refugee medical screenings since 2022. A new access point (NAP) award will enable MCHC to further expand care in several ways. IT will open a second service delivery site at 2414B south 10TH AVE in south milwaukee, WI 53172. A NAP award will also expand MCHC's enabling services by adding a social worker to provide greater care coordination and referral support and a behavioral health nurse to further medical-behavioral health integration and substance use disorder services. Through these expansions, in 2026, MCHC anticipates providing 4,500 total unduplicated patients across both sites with medical, dental, behavioral health, specialty, and enabling services - an increase of more than 2,000 annual patients from 2023. Becoming a health center program awardee will enable MCHC to sustain and grow its services for its unique and underserved patient population, as well as contribute to overall access to care and wellbeing for all local residents.