Inspiring the Next Generation

A key pillar of our model of care is training the next generation of health care workers.  We have a Nurse Practitioner Residency Program and a Postdoctoral Psychology Residency Program.  We work with students from nearby Wesleyan University in Middletown and we provide great opportunities for AmeriCorps members.  Yet all of this is predicated on people being inspired to serve their communities, inspiration that ideally should start well before the college years.

As part of National Health Center Week, CHC is proud to launch “The Ordinary Extraordinary Town and the Time of the Terrible Typical Trouble”.    It is the story about how 40 years ago, a group of Middletown activists and students from Wesleyan University came together, inspired by the idea that ‘Health Care is a Right, Not a Privilege,’ to start a free health care clinic to help their friends and neighbors.

The theme of this year’s National Health Center Week is “Celebrating America’s Health Centers: Powering Healthier Communities”.  Yet there is more to healthier communities than simply the absence of illness.  A healthy community is one that is inspired and empowered to work together as a vehicle for social change.