Community Health Connections
275 Nicholas Road
Fitchburg, MA 01420-1931
Phone: (978) 857-7021
President and CEO: Robert H. Johnson
CHC Director and Public Housing Director: Nicholas Apostaloras
Project Description
Community Health Connections, Inc. (CHC, Inc.), a FQHC
organization, currently operates two community health centers in north
central Massachusetts. CHC, Inc. was awarded a grant to start a New
Access Point satellite health center to serve local people who are
publicly housed or homeless. This new program, Healthcare for the Homeless
and Publicly Housed of North Central MA (HCHPH) will operate a mobile
medical service, a dental service, and behavioral
health services. The parent organization also operates a 340b
pharmacy, which is available to all patients of CHC, Inc. health
centers.
Services
Serves Fitchburg Public Housing sites with its mobile
medical/behavioral health services.
BPHC Collaborative Participation
HCHPH participates in the BPHC Depression Collaborative
Public Housing Locations/Sites
Green Acres Village
Normandy Road
Fitchburg, MA 01420
Wallace Towers
Wallace Avenue
Fitchburg, MA 01420
Olde English Village
152 Manca Drive
Gardner, MA 01440
Great Brook Valley Health Center
Public Housing Primary Care Program
19 Tacoma Street
Worcester, MA 01605
Phone: (508) 852-1805
Fax: (508) 853-8593
Interim CEO: Leah Gallivan
PHPC Program Manager: Sue Schlotterbeck
Chief Medical Officer: Janet Yardley
Project Description
The Great Brook Valley Health Center (GBVHC) Public Housing Primary Care
program serves residents of public housing and the surrounding community. GBVHC
is located within the largest public housing complex on the outskirts of the
city where residents are culturally, linguistically, economically, and
geographically isolated from the rest of the city.
GBVHC is committed to population-based, culturally competent medicine and has built a client centered and family-based service delivery model. Services are provided by multicultural staff that speaks 29 languages and comes from 36 countries. (78% of staff are bilingual, 17% of which are trilingual.)
Services
Medical Services include comprehensive primary care; urgent care; nurse case
management for diabetes, hypertension, asthma, depression, HIV, Hepatitis C;
screening for breast and cervical cancer; counseling and testing (HIV, STD,
Hepatitis); family planning; optometry; nutrition; and childbirth education and
breastfeeding support. GBVHC has an on-site pharmacy, laboratory, mammography
and ultrasound. Specialists are available on site for podiatry, pulmonology,
urology, cardiology, dermatology, ophthalmology, gynecology, and infectious
disease services.
GBVHC also provides Mental Health and Social Services, i.e., therapies including prescription medications, psychiatric services, ADHD evaluation and treatment, parenting education, crisis intervention, support groups, advocacy, referrals, assistance with benefits applications, transportation, perinatal case management, and domestic violence screening and intervention. Dental Services provided at two sites in Worcester and a third site in the neighboring town of Clinton include prevention and treatment, as well as Oral Surgery.
Other services include HIV and substance abuse programs for youth, HIV programs in prisons and jails, alternative to violence programs, community health issues trainings, and comprehensive health services at six School Based Health Centers. GBVHC has a 24-hour answering service and is open Monday-Saturday. Childcare is available on site.
In 2004, GBVHC opened the Framingham Community Health Center (FCHC) serving the region west of Boston. FCHC has two medical sites, a dental site, and is opening a school based health center. While not formally part of the PHPC program, FCHC provides access to comprehensive health care services for numerous Framingham's public housing residents.
Linkages/Partnerships
In collaboration with the Worcester Housing Authority, GBVHC is an active and
founding member of the Great Brook Valley/Curtis Collaborative, a group of
about a dozen agencies that partner with residents of public housing to assess
their needs and interests, develop programs, and search for resources to
address unmet needs.
GBVHC partners with Daybreak, the local battered women's shelter, to provide on-site services for domestic violence. To address the high infant mortality rate in Worcester, GBVHC collaborates with the community as grantee and lead agency for the Worcester Healthy Start Initiative, through which services are provided to many families living in public housing.
GBVHC collaborates with the other 330 funded agencies in the city (Family Health Cneter of Worcester and Community Healthlink) on services to HIV/AIDS infected patients, perinatal patients, the homeless, cancer prevention and access to treatment, and numerous other activities.
BPHC Collaborative Participation
On the national level, GBVHC was part of: 1) a Depression Collaborative, 2) a
National Collaborative on Pediatric Asthma through the National Institute of
Children's Healthcare Quality, and 3) the ADHD Collaborative of the Institute
for Healthcare Improvement. GBVHC has applied information gathered through the
Collaboratives to inform other of its initiatives such as Breast Cancer
Screening, Diabetes, and Prenatal Dental Care.
Public Housing Locations/Sites
Great Brook Valley Health Center
19 Tacoma Street
Worcester, MA 01605
Statistics
Estimated residents in Public Housing: 9,800
Project Users: 7,961 in 48,331 encounters
Whittier Street Health Center
1125 Tremont Street
Roxbury, MA 02120
Phone: (617) 427-1000
Fax (617) 989-3247
www.wshc.org
Executive Director: Frederica M. Williams, FCIS, MBA
PHPC Program Manager: Dumas Lafontant
Medical Director: Kamau Karanja, MD
Project Description
Whittier Street Health Center, serves five (5) public, federally subsidized and
privately managed housing developments within walking distance from the Center.
In 1999, Whitter moved into a 33,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility
owned by Northeastern University which is known as the Renaissance Park
Building.
Services
Whittier is a JCAHO accredited urban community health center providing primary
health care and social services to nearly 12,000 individuals from diverse
communities. Whittier's patients are predominantly low-income, uninsured, and
underinsured. The Center serves the homeless, elderly, disabled, and
chronically ill populations. The mission is to provide high quality, reliable
and accessible primary health care and support services to promote wellness and
eliminate health and social disparities. Whittier Street Health Center has more
than 30 core services and Mission based services including: adult medicine,
counseling/ behavioral health, eye care, oral health, OB/GYN, orthopedics,
pediatrics and adolescent health, creative arts therapy (drama, music and art
therapy), podiatry, prevention, health education and promotion, geriatrics,
dermatology, laboratory, physical therapy, radiology, mental health and
substance abuse counseling, nutrition, clinical pharmacy program, medical
interpreters, specialized clinics to address diabetes prevention and
management, pediatric asthma and overweight, urgent care, Post-Prison Release
Collaborative, Men's Health, W.Y.S.E. (Youth Program), Women Awareness
Resources (W.A.R.) Project, HIV/AIDS, Women Infants and Children (WIC),
prevention education, family care, advocacy and legal services, refugee health
assessment, and domestic violence prevention and education.
Linkages/Partnerships
Whittier has an extensive network of memberships, partnerships, collaborations
and affiliations that come together to provide an array of resources and
services for the target population served.
These include:
Action for Boston Community Development, African Health Community Initiative,
Boston HealthNet, Boston Housing Authority, Boston Public Health Commission,
Boston Medical Center, Boston Healthnet,Boston Children's Hospital, Churches
Organized, Save Tomorrow Research; Inc., CHANCE House (Faith Based), AIDS action
Committee, Alice Taylor Resident Service, Black Ministerial Alliance, Boston
Medical Center OB/Gyn, Boston Alcohol Detoxification Project IncCodman Square
Health Center, Department of Neighborhood Development, Dana Farber Cancer
Institute, Dimock Community Health Center, English High School, and Fenway
Community Health Center, Joslin Diabetes Clinic, Neighborhood Health Plan
Harvard School of Public Health - Channing Lab, Harbor Lights Center, Hyde Park Square Task Force/La Sociodad Latina, Harvard Street Community Health Center, Latino Health Institute, La Alianza Hispana; Lennox/Camden Tenants Association, La Socidad Latina, Lower Roxbury Coalition, Lower Roxbury Youth Workers Alliance, Madison Park Development Corporation, Multicultural AIDS Coalition, Massachusetts AIDS Coalition, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, New Covenant Church, Nuestra Communidad, Northeastern University, Partnership Program, People's Baptist Church, Somali Development Center, Self Esteem Boston Educational Institute; Inc., St. Francis-St. Philip Des Sales Church, Roxbury Community Alliance for Health, SPAN, Stanley Jones Clean Slate Project, and Suffolk County House of Correction
BPHC Collaborative Participation
The Diabetes Collaborative
National Health Disparities Collaborative Cancer Demonstration Project (colon,
breast and cervix)
Public Housing Locations/Sites
Whittier Street
Whittier Street Housing Development
Boston, MA 02120
Lenox Camden
Camden Street Housing Development
Boston, MA 02120
Alice Heywood Taylor
260 Ruggles Street, Housing Development
Boston, MA 02120
Hope VI
631 Parker Mission Main
Boston, MA 02120
Statistics
Estimated residents in Public Housing: 55,000
Projected Medical Users: 8,157
Actual Public Housing Users: 6,770
