August 29, 2025
Supporting community-based health care organizations drives OCHIN’s mission, with our Health Center Controlled Network (HCCN) serving as a cornerstone of our consultative approach to health care transformation.
Now entering the fifth phase of funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)—marking 13 years of continuous innovation and improvement—OCHIN’s HCCN is one of the largest in the nation. Our HCCN helps more than 100 participating health centers across 15 states optimize their use of health information technology to connect care teams and transform health outcomes for more than 4 million patients.
What sets OCHIN’s HCCN apart is our comprehensive approach that goes beyond the electronic health record platform. Drawing on more than 25 years of knowledge solutions expertise, OCHIN’s HCCN offers tailored support for participating health centers using six different EHR systems. This includes EHR-agnostic resources and toolkits, opportunities for collaboration among health centers using similar systems, and partnerships with third-party vendors to develop specialized strategies and workflows.
As of August 1, OCHIN’s HCCN launched the 2025-2028 cycle, with more than 50 OCHIN staff members supporting various aspects of the HRSA-funded program. They provide direct technical assistance, host webinars and develop customized resources to educate participating health centers.
Rebecca Brookes, director of workforce development and transformation programs at OCHIN, reflected on the program’s evolution and impact. Below, she discusses how OCHIN’s HCCN continues to drive innovation and support health centers in the new program cycle.
Expanding value-based care and digital health initiatives
OCHIN’s HCCN is building on previous efforts to help health centers strengthen their transition to value-based payment (VBP)—models that reimburse providers based on patient outcomes rather than the volume of services delivered. During the 2022-2025 cycle, the HCCN launched several key resources, including the VBP Learning Center, the VBP Innovators Group and the “Volume to Value” podcast, which support peer learning and practical strategies for implementing value-based models.
“There are many ways to help address challenges faced by health centers, like creating tools that help down the road,” Brookes said. “Another key aspect of that ties back to the focus on value-based care in the last HCCN funding cycle … it’s about helping organizations understand how to join those contracts, take part in that work and use the models in a way that supports their financial sustainability.”
The previous cycle also emphasized adopting digital health tools, such as patient portals, to improve engagement. OCHIN’s HCCN continues to explore how health centers use these tools creatively to reach populations that are often considered difficult to engage, such as older adults. In the new cycle, OCHIN will build on that foundation by identifying and sharing best practices to help health centers better support digital health adoption.
Supporting health centers with AI and data solutions
During the new cycle, OCHIN’s HCCN will advance five key objectives that promote clinical quality, financial sustainability, and clinician well-being. Participating health centers can choose activities aligned with federal health care priorities and tailored to their unique needs. The five focus areas include:
- Data management and analytics
- Interoperability and data sharing
- Data modernization
- Digital health tools
- Artificial intelligence
As AI continues to evolve, OCHIN’s HCCN provides essential guidance to help health centers identify the right tools and solutions. AI is reshaping patient care and operations, creating new opportunities and decisions that health centers must navigate.
“Artificial intelligence is a major disruptor right now, and we’re hearing consistently from our members that they need support in this area,” Brookes said. “We anticipate that, through our HCCN work, we can be a guiding light for health centers, equipping them with the tools and policies they need to use AI effectively and responsibly. Our goal is to help them do this without needing to bring in additional third-party support.”
This support is especially important as health centers face growing demands with limited resources.
“It’s been really clear from our members just how tight resources are,” Brookes said. “I’m very proud of the HCCN team and program for being so receptive to that need … We’ve been really conscious about making HCCN participation as easy as possible and providing customized support as needed.”
Delivering comprehensive training and technical assistance
During the 2022-2025 program cycle, OCHIN’s HCCN provided more than 5,000 hours of training and technical assistance to help health centers maximize available resources. Participating health centers have access to more than 125 hours of free training and support, helping them build skills and capacity across a variety of areas.
For example, one participating health center needed help expanding its quality improvement efforts. With support from OCHIN’s HCCN, they launched a training program that gave staff practical tools and knowledge to guide their own improvement work. The training created a foundation for future growth, helping staff feel more confident and capable of leading their own initiatives.
“We’ve focused on helping health centers use these resources for custom reporting and other needs that support financial sustainability and more,” Brookes said. “This is especially important given the financial and workforce constraints many health centers face today.”
Recognizing excellence and future growth
The impact of OCHIN’s HCCN is reflected in recent achievements by participating health centers. Twenty-two health centers met nine out of 10 key performance metrics in the last program cycle, demonstrating their commitment to delivering quality, whole-person care in diverse communities during challenging times.
These achievements highlight the value of OCHIN’s consultative support and collaborative approach. By the end of this cycle, Brookes says the team aims to meet all five HCCN objectives set by HRSA. But more importantly, they hope every participating health center uses HCCN resources to make meaningful improvements in their operations and patient care.
Explore OCHIN’s HCCN for free support and expert guidance to improve care at your health center and in your community.
This program is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an annual award totaling $2,955,000. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.
