John Hoffman, Vice President of HBO Documentary Films, Executive Producer of “Weight of the Nation”

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Aldon Hynes

This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Emmy Award-winning filmmaker John Hoffman, Vice President of HBO Documentary Films and Executive Producer of the “Weight of the Nation”, a four-part documentary series produced in conjunction with the Institute of Medicine and the National Institute of Health, that explores the growing epidemic of obesity in this country. Mr. Hoffman speaks about HBO’s commitment to using the documentary platform to publicize the causes of obesity, and engage communities in a dialogue about actions and solutions.

John Hoffman, Vice President of HBO Documentary Films, Executive Producer of "Weight of the Nation" [ 24:58 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (4)
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Community Health Center, Inc. Celebrates 40th Anniversary

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Aldon Hynes

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (May 1, 2012) – The Community Health Center, Inc., a state-wide primary care center specializing in the underserved and uninsured, is celebrating its 40th anniversary today, May 1st.   From its beginnings in a 2nd floor walk-up in Middletown in 1972, the Community Health Center has grown to serve more than 130,000 patients at over 200 locations across Connecticut, with medical, dental, and behavioral health care, with more than 500 staff and providers.

“In the early 70’s, we were a group of Middletown activists and students from Wesleyan University, and we were inspired by the idea that ‘Heath Care is a Right, Not a Privilege’,” said Mark Masselli, founder and President/CEO of CHC.  “It was a time when social change was sweeping the country, and we were part of that – the fact that we were able to grow from those early years as a free clinic to the CHC of today is due to the tremendous support and encouragement we received from the community.   We always had some older and wiser folks helping us build an organization for the long-term.”

Within a few years of their opening in Middletown, CHC began to expand across Connecticut.  As of 2012, CHC operates primary care centers in thirteen cities, in addition to their school-based health centers, and community-based locations.    The cities include Meriden, New Britain, Groton, New London, Danbury, Waterbury, Norwalk, Stamford, Old Saybrook, Bristol, Enfield and Clinton, as well as Middletown.

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Today, May 1st, CHC Turns 40

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Aldon Hynes

Here is a letter to all the friends of Community Health Center, on the occasion of our 40th Anniversary:

Dear Friends,

Forty years ago today, May 1st, a group of Wesleyan University students and Middletown community activists came together under the banner that Health Care is a Right, Not a Privilege. We were drawn together because our friends, family and neighbors needed health care that was accessible, affordable and responsive to their needs.

It wasn’t an easy road; there were no grants, professional staff, facilities or information technologies to support our work. We were fueled by idealism and a deep belief that patients should be the cornerstone of whatever was created.

The work began as a Free Clinic, and like all new organizations there was more talk than walk. Those early years were important developmental years. We would move from College Street to Main Street – both figuratively, as well as literally. Our presence on Main Street brought practical knowledge that every small business person learns: work hard and long, listen to your customers and don’t give up.   We relied on neighborhood leaders who knew more, were patient with our youthful energy, and who shared their wisdom about how to make a lasting contribution to the community.

Today, Community Health Center, Inc. provides care for 130,000 Connecticut residents. We see our patients  (90% of whom live at or near the poverty level) in one of our 200+ locations across Connecticut, providing them with a range of patient-centered medical, dental and behavioral health services.

We believe that if you are engaged in the provision of primary care, you have a responsibility to improve it. To that end, we have become known for our work in two other key areas:  Research and Innovation through our Weitzman Center, and Training the Next Generation of health professionals through our residency programs.

We have built an organization where people can do their best work as we strive to build a world-class primary health care system.  Along the way, we have been fortunate to attract staff – from our receptionists to our providers – who care deeply about the mission of the Community Health Center. All of this couldn’t happen without a consumer-led Board of Directors, who continue to heed the call that Health Care is a Right, Not a Privilege.

In celebration of our 40th anniversary, we hope you will join us on May 5th at noon, as we unveil our new 50,000 sq. ft. “green,” primary health care facility at 675 Main Street, Middletown, CT. This state-of-the-art facility reflects four decades of research, innovation, hard work, and the desire to provide the best care for our patients.

To see the live camera feed of the building click here.

Peace and Health

Mark Masselli
Founder
President/CEO

Margaret Flinter
Senior Vice President
and Clinical Director

Mark Bonney
Chairman of the Board of Directors

Serving underserved and uninsured patients throughout Connecticut.

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Autism Awareness: An Easy Target

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Hope Brigham

I was a little hesitant towards writing a blog post reflecting on Autism Awareness month seeing that April only has a few days left, but I was given a little motivation from Aldon Hynes, the social media master here at CHC.  I have been reading up on Autism Awareness and wonderful advocacy foundations, such as Autism Speaks throughout April and it has been highly educational but I did not feel like I had enough of a personal connection with autism in order to write something meaningful enough to generate awareness. After talking with Aldon for five minutes or so, he had directed me towards a recent segment from NPR he had heard on the radio. The story was about a thirteen year old girl reflecting on the social repercussions she had received while growing up with Asperger’s Syndrome.  She saw herself as “cool and different” and her peers decided to turn her uniqueness into reasons for bullying her.

According to the NPR article online, a new survey by the Interactive Autism Network found that nearly two-thirds of children with autism spectrum disorders have been bullied at some point. The survey polled the parents of more than one thousand children with autism and found that bullies choose them as their target almost three times more often than kids without a disorder. Abby, the thirteen year old girl talks about her immense passion for Star Wars and how she has memorized nearly everything about it there is to know. She mentioned how hyper she knew she could be in class on some days and how other students used that to torment her verbally. She had some really awful stories about her peers targeting her and on one occasion a student physically threw something at her head. Before it got any worse, Abby’s mother decided to remove her from school and educate her from home. After two years of excelling in her passion for learning at home, they decided it was best to allow Abby to be in a more social setting when it came to education. Now at her new school, specially designed for children with autism, Abby has a new group of friends and is trying new things such as acting.

The survey that I mentioned earlier helped turn up lots of stories similar to Abby’s, and according to a specialist, the problem is all too common. Kids who want to make friends but may appear to have a different approach to things are vulnerable to bullying from others. Just within the past few days, a news story has erupted about a father in New Jersey discovering how awful his autistic ten year old son was being treated by not only his fellow classmates, but by his teachers. The dad noticed his son acting very different and wanted to record how his average school days were going by wiring a device into his son’s shirt. After listening to teachers use profanity towards his son, and blatantly neglecting his needs, the father took bullying awareness to a new level. He has already set up a petition calling on lawmakers to remove any teachers from the school after the first account of bullying a student. In just two days, the petition has over sixty thousand signatures. According to the specialist commenting on the NPR story, children with autism would have fewer problems if every school had a policy on bullying and enforced it.

As the last few days of April fly past us, I think it is important to continue to promote the importance of autism awareness at all times. An estimated one out of fifty-four boys and one out of two hundred and fifty-two girls are diagnosed with autism in the United States. The population involved with protecting the autistic awareness movement is rapidly growing so you might as well join in. To give credit to Aldon one last time, he introduced me to an Apple Commercial first launched in 1997 which is a must see if you haven’t already; it is definitely something that just reiterates the fact that being different doesn’t just mean being an easy target, it means having the ability to change ideas and promote new ones in a world filled with conformity. I think it is a good way to remember all of the incredible people who altered our world in one way or another by simply thinking and acting outside of the box no matter how many people tried to tell them not to.

To read more about autism awareness, the definition of autism and the different classifications of spectrum disorders, please visit our patient resource page.

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The Power of Unity

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Hope Brigham

On April 17, I was lucky enough to attend a Patient Navigation Conference hosted by the Connecticut Cancer Partnership.  Along with Marie Yardis, the EDP coordinator at CHC and Corazon Irizarry, a fellow AmeriCorps member, we spent the morning listening to Rian Rodriguez speak about how patient navigation has evolved over the past twenty two years. For me, the concept of patient navigation is very new but was made easy to understand why there was such a high need for a program like the one started in 1990 by Dr. Harold P. Freeman within the realm of cancer treatment and under-served populations. Rian spoke of the time he spent working with Dr. Freeman and displayed the alarming statistics from the start of the program; they showed the significant barriers many poor populations were facing when it came to seeking cancer treatments.

Rian Rodriguez was named the Director of the American Cancer Society two months ago, and although he is fairly new in this position, he has been working side by side with Dr. Freeman for almost two decades. In 1990, the pioneers of the patient resource movement, started to track cancer patients within their different stages at Harlem Hospital. They developed mechanisms to systematically track the patients and figure out how to remove the different barriers different patients were facing. Some of the barriers that were discussed in the breakout session I attended had to do with finances, transportation, cultural differences, race/age biases, fear, and the overall healthcare system the patient was involved with.  One solution they came up with to help eliminate at least a few of these barriers was creating the role of a patient navigator. A patient navigator is a resource that can be assigned to patients to help them tackle the many issues that not only cancer brings, but  issues that arise from people who do not have access to basic health resources such as insurance or proper information. At a point when patients and their families are facing the challenge of their lives, they must navigate and manage one of the most complex healthcare systems in the world; the patient navigator serves as sort of the tour guide during this intricate process. The model of Patient Navigation is pictured below.

Most people are aware that almost one in four people in the United States do not have proper health coverage. Without adequate health insurance coverage, many people seek preventive cancer care and treatment too late, which results in a shorter span of time to actually fight the disease or to even evaluate the patient’s options. When patient navigators are involved, they can help promote practices such as early detection which can help discover abnormal results sooner rather than later. In the chance that a patient is found to have signs of cancer, the navigator can then lead them in the direction of diagnosis, treatment, and post-treatment. The creation and evolution of this navigation process was proven highly successful after new statistics began to show more cases with earlier detection and less associated deaths within each cancer stage. The model has been altered, and since the field of patient navigation is still developing, there are different and competing models emerging but the overall concept remains intact. Overwhelming populations of people were suffering from cancer health disparities and although the model cannot fix every health system problem, it is doing a good job generating awareness as well as identifying and eliminating obstacles.

During Rian Rodriguez’s overview, he discussed three major factors that have improved the percentage of patients helped with the assistance of patient navigators. With an increasing number of patient navigators, free early detection screenings, and a large increase of outreach navigation, the low income populations have been able to improve their battle against cancer and its healthcare barriers. The conference really opened my eyes to the field of patient navigation. As I already mentioned, the program is still developing and changes to meet different community needs, but there are a few things that have been proven for sure when it comes to utilizing professionals as navigators. The key benefits are more lives are being saved, barriers are being eliminated, and the model can be altered to fit the many different communities and institutions to focus on what that specific demographic needs.

One of the most important things I heard during the conference is that every individual, family, culture, community and institution is unique. Unique situations call for unique solutions. Cancer patient navigation can be provided by a professional such as a social worker or nurse, or by a peer who is trained and supervised by a professional to work with patients navigating the health care system. At the end of the day, all that matters is that a patient feels like someone is giving them the specific attention they need to take on the strenuous battle against cancer and I am more than appreciative for the impact the conference had on my patient navigation mentality.

 

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Daniel Wolfson, Executive Vice President and COO of the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Aldon Hynes

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Daniel Wolfson, Executive Vice President and COO of the ABIM Foundation, which recently launched the “Choosing Wisely” campaign in conjunction with Consumer Reports and nine medical societies. The campaign seeks to reduce the overuse of unnecessary medical tests which waste limited healthcare resources, pose additional risks to patients and drive up healthcare costs in this country.

Daniel Wolfson, Executive Vice President and COO of the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation [ 24:52 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2)
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Splashes of Service in Waterbury

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Hope Brigham

During our first week as AmeriCorps members at the Community Health Center, Inc. back in August, we were introduced to the concept of “AmeriCorps Week”. We learned about the two groups who served the years before  us, and the incredible acts of service they completed within one week throughout Connecticut. I remember thinking the spring seemed so far away at that point and we still had plenty of duties to complete before even thinking about our week of service. As we hit the halfway mark of April, it is mind boggling to think we not only have been serving as HealthCorps members for almost eight months, we also just completed our AmeriCorps week and the end of our service term is heading rapidly towards us.

During the month of October, the AmeriCorps group was introduced to community outreach services in Waterbury, CT. CHC opened their 13th site on North Elm Street in November of 2011, and the AmeriCorps spent an ample amount of time within the community of Waterbury; we were able to see the diverse neighborhoods and local businesses while trying to spread the word about the new arrival of CHC’S health services becoming available to citizens of the city. When the time came to pick an area of the state we wanted to dedicate our week of service to, the answer was right in front of us. After months of planning and overcoming plenty of barriers, our group of thirteen members hosted one amazing effort titled “Splashes of Service Week in Waterbury”.

Our catchy slogan has a lot of meaning built behind it that helps explain what we actually did throughout the week. Starting on Monday, April 9, and ending on Saturday, April 14, as a group we accomplished painting eleven elementary school blacktops, chaperoning a field-trip to a baseball game, cleaning up a YMCA Camp, and hosting a Community Meal for the people of Waterbury that included a DJ, fun activity stations, and information about healthy eating habits.

Sprucing up schools’ playgrounds, which was the biggest component of our AmeriCorps Week, is the program that helped us come up with the idea to paint the school’s playgrounds during our week of service.  The AmeriCorps member who coordinates Recess Rocks, Lisa Rozo, was the lead organizer for this project and she reflects on painting the blacktops of Waterbury Elementary Schools below:

“After being involved with a project to paint playgrounds last year we thought it would be great to bring it to Waterbury for our week of service. The theme of our week focused on building healthier families through encouragement of physical activity and a great way to do that is to make recess more fun and active! We teamed up with 11 elementary schools in Waterbury and spent the week painting the school blacktops with educational images like a map of the U.S., and fun games like the activity circle that encourage the students to be more physically active during recess. At each school we also painted their school mascot to boost school pride and give them a sense of community.  The students were out of school during their spring break for the week but parents and children from the schools were invited to come help;  we had a lot of fun at Washington Elementary school where some students came and got to paint the U.S. map along with fun words like “zoom” around their blacktop. So far, we have had feedback from Principal Brown of Walsh Elementary School who saw the blacktop and said that it looked wonderful and he was so excited for the kids to come back from break and see it.”

Over two hundred cans of spray paint and eleven black tops later, Waterbury Schools are now equipped with bright and colorful places to spend recess time. We had sixteen Principles agree to let us come into their Schools, and although we only completed eleven during our dedicated week of service, we will be returning to Waterbury over the course of the next few weekends to finish what has been started! We were also very lucky to have been interviewed by both Channel 3 and Channel 8 News stations about our week long projects.

 

Along with painting schools throughout Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, our week also included chaperoning a trip with local Waterbury kids to a New Britain Rock Cats game hosted by the Police Activities league (PAL). PAL is a not for profit organization which promotes partnerships between youth, law enforcement, and the community through educational, athletic, and recreational programs designed to encourage team building and foster positive relationships. On Wednesday, five of us boarded a school bus and headed to the stadium with two officers who volunteered their time off to take the kids to a baseball game. About 35 students attended the trip, and upon arrival, the kids were all given a baseball glove with a ball and a tee shirt. Our group was escorted onto the field before the start of the game and one of the Waterbury students even got to throw the first pitch.  The kids were more than well behaved and it was an incredible experience to learn about the important role the Police Activities League plays within the Waterbury Community.

We took a break from Painting on Thursday and traveled to Camp Mataucha located in Watertown that is operated by The Greater Waterbury YMCA. From 9am-3pm, we spent our time raking and transporting leaves, painting and staining fences and buildings, and spreading mulch in preparation of the camps opening. The camp serves children ages 5-15 and it seemed like an awesome day camp to attend. We were definitely tired by the end of the day, but it was well worth the blisters and occasional hail storms we encountered while we were there to give the camp staff some helping hands with spring cleaning in anticipation for summer visitors.

Our week was brought to an end on Saturday, where we hosted a Community Meal on the Waterbury Green. The town Green, located right in the heart of downtown Waterbury, was the perfect place to bring our free, fun and family-friendly event. The weather was perfect and from 11:30am-2:30pm we attracted over two hundred people. While serving a meal with tons of great options thanks to some of our more kitchen savvy members, we also set up stations for people to embrace healthy living styles. Our most popular activity was definitely the Herb planting. We had plenty of cans and soil ready for children or adults to come decorate and plant their own herbs to take home. We had a table filled with bilingual recipe cards, CHC information, and plenty of frisbees and jump ropes which were a hit. Guests were also able to enjoy the musical stylings from our very own AmeriCorps DJ, Roberto Henry. Kids were able to pick up a Healthy activities Card and get a hole punched for each station they completed. Once someone participated in hopscotch, hula hooping, planting, basketball, and our obstacle course, they were allowed to receive a fun prize! Over the course of three hours, I think it was safe to say that people were having tons of fun and happy to have us in their community. We received an abundance of thank-you’s for the meal and good times on the green but we were thankful for all the people who came and stayed to celebrate Splashes of Service with us!

There are so many people who helped us bring forth our ideas about AmeriCorps week and transformed them into a reality. We are more than grateful for the support from CHC along with the Community of Waterbury. We received donations from local establishments and a generous donation from a New Britain Hospital group. We definitely had setbacks, but all great endeavors require a little muscle work which we were reminded of a few times throughout the week. We have a ton of awesome photos that really show how terrific our week truly went, and they will be available very soon. Our goals for the week were to encourage physical activity and improve spirit of the schools. We also wanted to use our Community meal to promote healthier families through encouragement of outdoor activities and healthy eating habits. As a group, we overcame barriers and used our individual talents to host a phenomenal week long experience. Everyone contributed in many different ways and without the support of eachother, we would have not been so successful. As we reach the beginning of the end of our AmeriCorps term, we are proud to take what we have learned and accomplished with us to provide services for others during our last few months. We are ever so grateful for the opportunities that we have been given, and for the creative freedom that lets us try and think outside of the box when it comes to helping the underserved populations throughout CT. Below, are a few reflections from fellow AmeriCorps members about our week!

“Our Splashes of Service week in Waterbury was absolutely amazing. The elementary school playgrounds in Waterbury have probably never looked brighter! One fun memory I have is Walsh Elementary school. The neighborhood surrounding the school had many abandoned, boarded up, and burnt down houses. As we worked, some children playing on a little playground began watching us through the fence, asking us questions. As soon as we finished and had all had hopped into our cars, the kids burst out from behind the fence and began hopping on the hopscotch and reading the words like ‘Zoom!’ we had painted all around. Then the Community Meal was a great wrap-up to our week. The weather was beautiful and people were in cheerful moods as they grabbed a bite to eat on their way to work or as their children planted herbs. We heard many encouraging words about how delicious the food was, as well as some people sadly telling us that it was the only meal they would be eating that day. We also had individuals tell us that they had recently switched to CHC from area clinics. The families that came loved the activity stations. My favorite was planting herbs! The kids (and adults!) were excited to grow their herbs and use them in the recipes we provided. Overall, it was a wonderful week and I believe that all of our hard work helped to encourage healthier lifestyles in Waterbury.” Tasha Germain

“It was a great opportunity to help promote healthy lifestyles in the Waterbury community by encouraging physical activity and showing families that eating healthy can be easy and DELICIOUS! Our bilingual, healthy recipe cards were extremely popular!” Corazon Irizarry

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Brian Dolan, Co-Founder and Managing Editor of MobiHealthNews

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Aldon Hynes

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Brian Dolan, Co-Founder and Managing Editor of MobiHealthNews – the online publication monitoring new developments in mobile health technology. Dolan discusses the myriad health and medical applications for mobile phones and tablets that have the power to revolutionize how healthcare is delivered moving forward and how consumers participate in their health care.

Brian Dolan, Co-Founder and Managing Editor of MobiHealthNews [ 24:59 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (12)
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Fairfield County Food Drive!!

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Aldon Hynes

The following is a guest blog post from AmeriCorps member, Diana Desmornes:

“More and More people are turning to their local food pantries to feed their families.” In the past couple years; this has been a recurring theme in the news, people who used to be able to sustain their families are now looking for assistance. As the demand increases, local food pantries have been struggling to keep their shelves stocked throughout the year.

My first time walking into Christian Community Action (CCA) was an eye opener. This small waiting area was packed with people of all ages waiting for their numbers to be called. This is what happens at CCA every week (Monday- Friday), from 9AM- 12PM, people from the greater Norwalk area come in to register and get a bag of food to take to their families.

I have witnessed similar situation at Dorothy Day Hospitality House in Danbury. While volunteers were preparing food in the kitchen, a group of people were already waiting at the door. “Dorothy Day Hospitality House serves 80-120 hot meals each afternoon and provides shelter to 16 people each night.”

To help support their effort to feed everyone that walks through their doors, CHC staff in Norwalk, Stamford and Danbury donated food to these two pantries and The Food Bank of Lower Fairfield County.

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“Out, Out ..” #SBHCs and the Death of a Student

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Aldon Hynes

It seemed like every year or two a classmate of mine in high school would die in an accident; often, it was car accidents.  The year after I left for college, a high school friend disappeared.  A month later, they found her body, but never her killer, nor the reason.  At times, it haunts me still.

Being hundreds of miles away, I could not make it back for the memorial service, but I remember receiving newspaper clippings and phone calls from my mother.  “They found Rocky’s body…”

I received a copy of the memorial service bulletin.  I remember my Latin teacher read Robert Frost’s “Out, Out…”.  I remember seeing articles from the papers with lines like, “Counselors have been made available at the school this week.”

Today, I read about a high school student from Westport who died unexpectedly; “Counselors have been made available at the school this week.”  I thought of the young boy in Salem, CT, whose death was not unlike the boy in Frost’s poem.  The buzz saw was replaced with a chipper.  “Counselors have been made available at the school this week.”

Who are these counselors that have been made available?  The Community Health Center has behavioral health providers at schools across our state.  They are part of our School Based Health Center program.

I know the talking points about the value of school based health centers.  Kids can get help that they need without having to leave the school.  They miss less class time.  Their parents don’t have to take the day of to drive them to the doctor’s office.  Yet, here was an aspect of the school based health centers that I hadn’t thought about.  They have professional behavioral health staff in schools that can help during these difficult times.

One of our behavioral health providers is Elizabeth Cestero.  She grew up in Salem, and her family continues to reside there and is very much impacted by the death of the young boy.  She works with our Enfield School Based Health Center and helped students as they struggled with their grief and difficult feelings when some Fermi high school students committed suicide earlier this school year.

Working within the school allowed students to drop into the health center as needed to process the loss. It also allowed school staff members a place to process their grief.  Being a part of the school community allows for therapists to design programs to follow the trends within the population and to provide quicker access to services in times of crisis. Once the word was out about our services in the middle school Elizabeth ended up having a lot of drop ins in her after school group and ended up having to open up the group to more and more students and offer more group times to accommodate the demand.

It would be great if students did not have to face the death of classmates, but unfortunately, that remains too common an occurrence, and as long as there are tragedies like these, there will be a need for counselors like Elizabeth and her co-workers to help out.

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