The Pacific Islands Primary Care Association (PIPCA) provides training and technical assistance to the nine community health centers in the six US-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI). The six US-Affiliated Pacific Islands include:
- American Samoa
- Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI)
- Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)
- Guam
- Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI or the Marshall Islands)
- Republic of Palau (ROP or Palau)
The area served by PIPCA is an oceanic region considerably larger than the continental United States. The region spans many hundreds of islands and atolls, which are home to approximately 450,000 individuals who represent at least nine distinct Pacific cultures, dozens of languages, and six distinct political entities, three of which are independent countries.
Although this region is collectively referred to as the USAPI each jurisdiction is unique in many ways. Due to the differences in history, size, population, time zones, connectivity, and relationship to the US, they each have distinct challenges affecting the delivery of primary health care. This differs from the diversity between US states. Some of the differences fall upon the lines of territories versus independent countries, although not always. Some have more resources or populations, others have different languages, laws, and people. Their economies are differentiated from the US in that the vast majority of people are low income. All the CHCs serve patient populations in which 95-100% are below 200% of the federal poverty level. Community health centers are located on Kosrae, a rural island with 6,000 people as well as Guam, the commercial center of Micronesia with a population of 150,000. The diversity between the USAPI leads to vastly different possibilities within the health delivery system.
PIPCA’s goals are to support the improvement and expansion of primary care systems specific to local needs; advocate for local and regional health care issues to expand and improve integrated systems of care; support the building and sustaining of local and regional capacity in primary health care; and support the collaboration and networking in the region with regards to primary health care.
The membership of PIPCA consists of the nine federally funded Pacific Island community health centers and five regional health associations: the American Pacific Nursing Leaders Council; the Pacific Basin Dental Association; the Pacific Basin Medical Association; the Pacific Islands Health Officers Association; and the Pacific Behavioral Health Collaborating Council. Each member serves on the Board of Directors. This unique governing structure reflects the collaborative interdependence of health systems throughout the Pacific.
