CHWC Celebrates National Health Center Week with visits from Governor Lamont and Dr. Mandar Jadhav.

[TORRINGTON, CT] Community Health & Wellness Center (CHWC) celebrated National Health Center Week (NHCW) from August 2nd-August 8th. Traditionally occurring during the first week of August, NHCW highlights the commitment and passion of community health centers, their staff, board, patients and supporters who make it possible to provide the high-quality, comprehensive healthcare services to their communities. With 1,512 CHC’s across the country, more than 52 million patients across more than 17,000 communities are served annually.

During the celebrations, CHWC hosted State of Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, State Senator Paul Honig, and Mandar Jadhav, MD, Deputy Director of Federal Affairs at the National Association of Community Health Centers, for a tour of the Torrington Health Center during their community fair and Back-to-School Supply Drive.

Joanne Borduas, Chief Executive Officer, provided a short presentation about the work that CHWC does, some of the challenges faced by community health centers, in particular in our most rural communities. Joanne also discussed the $154mm in Rural Health Transformation Grant Funds, which will help to modernize and stabilize healthcare access, quality, and delivery of care in rural communities across Connecticut. “Our rural communities face unique challenges that often become barriers to care.” Said Borduas, “The rural health transformation initiatives will help us to address these challenges through things like mobile care, improved IT infrastructure to support telehealth and care coordination and ensuring patients stay connected to care.”

Governor Lamont presented a proclamation for National Health Center Week recognizing the 17 health centers across Connecticut for the important work they do, seeing over 450,000 patients annually, and discussed the important services that Community Health Centers like CHWC provide daily to patients.

"Community health centers like CHWC are often the first door people walk through when they need care, and in our rural towns, sometimes the only one.” Said Governor Lamont, “That's why we're investing $154 million in rural health transformation to modernize, expand, and strengthen the health resources—including community health centers—that ensure patients across the state receive the best care, no matter where they live. Every resident of Connecticut deserves access to high-quality care close to home, and centers like CHWC are how we deliver on that promise."

Dr. Jadhav spoke about the challenges that community health centers are facing with impending federal cuts including changes to Medicaid coverage requirements and the 340B drug pricing program. He also noted that community health centers provide patient centric care in an integrated environment that provides excellence in care and can be the model of all care delivery for the future.

“It was a privilege to join Governor Lamont in recognizing the team at the Community Health and Wellness Center of Greater Torrington, a lifeline for Northwest Connecticut through workforce development and community partnerships,” said Dr. Jadhav.  . “This National Health Center Week, we celebrate Community Health Centers like CHWC, which expand access to care for rural seniors and reach more families through mobile health units and school-based sites.”

About Community Health & Wellness Center
Community Health and Wellness Center (CHWC) is an award-winning 501(c )(3) not-for-profit organization and the only Federally Qualified Healthcare Center (FQHC) in the northwest corner of Connecticut providing comprehensive services. CHWC delivers a range of integrated healthcare services including medical, behavioral health, chiropractic, and nutrition, as well as an in-house lab and pharmacy. Serving over 7,000 patients, CHWC operates health centers in Torrington, Winsted, and North Canaan, with School-Based Health Centers in all Torrington schools and three Region One Schools.