Nearly 300 representatives of Community Health Centers from across the nation, including in Michigan, are making their voices heard on Capitol Hill.

A Capitol Hill Fly-In Day this week included doctors, nurses, patients, and administrators who have joined forces to urge Congress to approve critical funding for their clinics.

Michael Weesssies, CEO of a Muskegon health center that serves about 60,000 under-privileged or uninsured patients, warns that without this money, clinics serving vulnerable, low-income people could close.

“We receive about 10% or more of our funding through the federal government,” Weesssies said. “The rest is through patient visits. So for us to lose out on 10% revenue would be — catastrophic is probably a strong word — but it would be detrimental to the services that we’re currently providing.”

Community Health Centers serve as primary care providers for almost 33 million Americans, including more than nine million children. Their federal funding expires on December 31.