About Us

CHAD builds strong partnerships with national, state, and local stakeholders to advance the work and mission of community health centers across the Dakotas and impact the health of families, communities, and populations across both states. Collaboration, teamwork, and shared goals are central to our partnerships and affiliations, supporting our efforts to increase health care access and improve health outcomes among diverse populations.

Learn more about our partners and how we are impacting health outcomes together.

Full membership to the Community HealthCare Association of the Dakotas is available to federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and FQHC look-alikes serving North Dakota and South Dakota. The CHAD board of directors must approve full member applications.

Benefits of Full Membership

• Representation on the CHAD board of directors
• Discounted registration fees for CHAD workshops and trainings
• Access to CHAD peer networking groups
• Coordinated grassroots advocacy
• Legislative tracking and policy review
• Access to “members only” information and resources on the CHAD website
• Technical assistance in areas of finance, human resources, clinical informatics, clinical quality, data, communications and marketing, policy and advocacy, dental services, emergency preparedness, behavioral and mental health services, and special populations
• Access to UDS data analysis for individual health centers, as well as state and bi-state aggregates
• Workforce recruitment and retention assistance
• Health center management and policy assistance
• Board training and development
• Assistance with new access point (NAP) and other grant applications
• Community development and planning grant assistance
• Community education and outreach to improve access to medical, dental, and behavioral health services
• Group purchasing programs 
• Access to CHAD fee-for-service products and services
• Promotional opportunities in CHAD publications and communication tools
• Representation on statewide boards, committees, and task groups
• Liaison to Primary Care Offices (PCO)
• Subscription to CHAD newsletters and communications
• Representation on CHAD training and technical assistance steering committee

Associate membership to the Community HealthCare Association of the Dakotas is available to rural health clinics, public health units, and health care partners with a mission and goals common to those of CHAD and its membership organizations.

Benefits of Associate Membership

• Policy and advocacy for initiatives that align with CHAD and member  health centers 
• Discounted registration fees for CHAD workshops and trainings
• Access to selected CHAD peer networking groups
• Access to selected “members only” information and resources on the CHAD website
• Guidance with federally qualified health center (FQHC) planning grant applications and key program requirements
• Workforce recruitment and retention assistance
• Group purchasing programs – benefits/savings
• Promotional opportunities in CHAD publications and communication tools
• Representation on statewide boards, committees and task groups for initiatives that align with CHAD and member organizations
• Subscription to CHAD newsletters and communications

North Dakota

South Dakota

The Community HealthCare Association of the Dakotas (CHAD) is a non-profit membership organization that serves as the primary care association for North Dakota and South Dakota. CHAD supports health center organizations in their mission to provide access to health care for all Dakotans regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. CHAD works with health centers, community leaders, and partners to enhance access to affordable, high-quality health care and find solutions for expanding health care services in the areas of the Dakotas that need it most. For more than 35 years, CHAD has advanced the efforts of health centers in North Dakota and South Dakota through training, technical assistance, education, and advocacy. Currently, CHAD provides a variety of resources to enhance key areas of operations, including clinical quality, human resources, finance, outreach and enabling services, marketing, and policy.

North Dakota

South Dakota