PHMC Health’s Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) have earned three Community Health Quality Recognition (CHQR) badges from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for 2025 — the first time the network has earned three badges in a single year.
PHMC Health received the following badges, based on 2025 Uniform Data System (UDS) reporting:
- National Quality Leader – Diabetes Health
Awarded to health centers that meet or exceed national benchmarks for clinical quality measures promoting diabetes health. - Advancing Health Information Technology (HIT) for Quality
Awarded to health centers that offer telehealth services, exchange clinical information online with key health care partners, engage patients through HIT and collect data on patient health-related needs. - Health Center Quality Leader – Bronze
Awarded to health centers with an Adjusted Quartile Ranking (AQR) average in the top 30% nationally for overall clinical quality measure performance. The Bronze badge recognizes health centers in the top 21–30%.
CHQR badges are awarded annually by HRSA’s Bureau of Primary Health Care to Health Center Program awardees and look-alikes that have achieved quality improvements in access, clinical quality, health outcomes and health information technology. This year, only 10% of health centers in Pennsylvania earned the National Quality Leader – Diabetes badge, and just 7.5% earned the Health Center Quality Leader Bronze badge (with a total of 22.5% earning an HCQL badge at any tier).
As part of a comprehensive approach to diabetes management, the FQHCs prioritize broad screening to identify patients with diabetes. Once diagnosed, patients receive nutrition and exercise education and are connected to affordable medications through PHMC Health Pharmacy’s 340B Drug Pricing Program. The FQHCs also partner with Sanctuary Farm and The Food Trust to expand patients’ access to fresh produce.
Meanwhile, PHMC Health’s robust quality program is spearheaded by a Continuous Quality Improvement Committee. Each year, the committee develops a plan identifying high-priority areas of care, with a particular emphasis on ensuring patients receive appropriate screenings and that chronic conditions are well managed. The FQHCs regularly assess how specific patient groups are doing and develop strategies to improve their outcomes through initiatives such as partnerships with mobile mammography units and bulk orders of colon cancer screening tests.
PHMC Health previously earned the Advancing HIT for Quality badge in 2021, 2023 and 2024. PHMC Health’s FQHCs serve a citywide patient population with a range of unique needs, including specialized care for residents of public housing and people experiencing homelessness — populations whose complex needs make top-tier quality performance especially hard-won.
“From our front office staff to our clinical providers, we all work as one team,” said Dr. Pheobe Askie, PHMC Health’s Medical Director. “Our medical receptionists coordinate appointments so that we’re as accessible as possible, our nurses educate and create treatment plans with our patients, and the medical assistants oversee and monitor the accuracy of clinical measurements. Everyone plays an important role in taking care of our patients and empowering them to improve their health.”
The achievement comes as PHMC Health served more than 20,000 patients in 2025, its highest patient volume in any year since the COVID-19 pandemic. The network’s leadership attributes this milestone to a diverse, focused and collective team effort to improve its quality of care and data.
PHMC Health provides comprehensive, accessible and patient-centered health care to communities across Philadelphia. Patients can call 855.887.9229 to schedule an appointment.
