Company
October 2, 2026
Doug Cassidy · President, AI Solutions, Health Universe
Showing Up for Ohio's Community Health Centers: Notes from OACHC
Last week I spent a few days in Columbus at the Ohio Association of Community Health Centers (OACHC) Fall Conference. The response we got was immense, and we felt genuinely welcomed by the people who keep Ohio's safety-net care running.
For me, this one was personal. Earlier in my career I worked with CCALAC, a network of federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) in Los Angeles. That's where I learned what community health centers do with so little, and how much the people in them care about the patients they serve. Walking into OACHC felt like coming home.
Who was in the room
About 270 people from more than 80 organizations attended, and the mix of roles said a lot about how health centers work. These weren't people who focus on one narrow job. They were leaders and frontline staff who wear many hats every day:
- Executive leadership: CEOs, executive directors, COOs and chief clinical officers
- Finance and revenue cycle: CFOs, controllers, billing managers and directors of revenue cycle
- Clinical and integrated health: medical directors, nurse practitioners, directors of nursing, behavioral health directors and clinical pharmacists
- Quality and compliance: directors of quality, QI coordinators, value-based care coordinators and compliance officers
- Operations and outreach: practice managers, site managers, community health workers and outreach and enrollment coordinators
It was a room full of people responsible for both the patient in front of them and the budget behind them.
Why we're showing up for community health
Until this year, Health Universe focused on large health systems with an agentic AI strategy: academic medical centers and NCI-designated cancer centers. Earlier this year we started working with community health centers and clinical labs, and it changed how we think about who needs this technology most.
FQHCs serve communities that have long been clinically underserved. Many of their patients live with chronic disease, and most rely on Medicare or Medicaid. The clinicians and staff who care for them are some of the most dedicated people in healthcare. But money is always tight and funding is hard to win, so these teams rarely get access to the newest technology.
We didn't think that was right. So Health Universe decided to make our clinical platform available at no cost to sign up for FQHCs, community health centers and FQHC look-alikes.
What resonated
Seeing the whole patient. Through our partner Kno2, health centers on Health Universe can connect to the national health information exchange networks. That's huge for them. Patients in these communities don't have "brand loyalty" to one site or network. They go where they can get care.
That creates real gaps. A patient might come in for wound care, and only two weeks later does the team learn, because they didn't have the full history, that the patient has type 2 diabetes and hasn't had an eye exam or a foot check in over a year. With a complete record up front, that care gap is caught on the first visit, not the third.
Keeping up with eligibility. With the changes coming next year under the One Big Beautiful Bill, it will get even harder to track why patients qualify for Medicaid coverage and to keep them enrolled. Health Universe helps health centers keep track of that too.
What's next
We've already had four follow-up conversations from last week, and I expect more. That says a lot about how ready these teams are for tools that work for them, not just for the biggest systems.
I'm looking forward to attending more regional events like this one. Nothing replaces face time with the people doing this work. Thank you to OACHC and to every health center leader who stopped to talk with us. We're proud to stand with you and the communities you serve.