Community Health & Wellness Center to open new location in the spring

By Colleen Gundlach

Much attention over the past year and half has been focused on a two-story commercial building that has been under construction on East Main Street in North Canaan. Most local people are aware that it is going to house the Community Health & Wellness Center (CHWC), but there is some misconception about exactly what that means.

CHWC started more than 20 years ago in a small office at Brooker Memorial in Torrington. Previously owned by Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, the program was closed by the hospital when it became a financial burden, despite an obvious need for the services it had offered. The loss to the community was palpable, so a grassroots effort was launched, which eventually resulted in CHWC being named a Federally Qualified Health Care Service (FQHC). As such, it were granted nonprofit status and soon grew into a large office space at 469 Migeon Avenue in Torrington and opened a second office at 10 Center Street in Winsted.

The new space in North Canaan is expected to open this spring and will bring a variety of medical services to area residents, including primary care, chiropractic services and behavioral health. The lack of medical providers in the Northwest Corner poses a particular challenge, which CHWC is hoping to alleviate. 

According to the center’s chief executive director, Joanne Borduas, the services are open to everyone. “Often when people hear of a federally qualified health center, they think that the services are only for the uninsured or underserved. That is not the case with CHWC. We take most commercial insurances, as well as Medicare and Medicaid, but for those who have no insurance coverage, we will assist them in obtaining coverage. For those who are ineligible for any coverage, we have a sliding fee scale based on income.”

CHCW is working to become a community partner. After the doors open, the center will also be providing services to three of the Region 1 schools. “We will partner with the schools to provide mental health and primary care services [and help with] other school-based health objectives,” says Borduas. “We have started conversations with providers who already service the schools, to partner with them in order to complement what they are already doing.”

“We are also looking forward to working closely with the Fishes & Loaves food pantry, with whom we have partnered in the past to provide Covid testing and vaccines to food pantry clients through our Mobile Unit,” according to Borduas. The Mobile Unit is a retrofitted ambulance that can house a patient and a provider (MD, APRN or PA) and provide primary care services, including immunizations. “The demand has diminished since the pandemic,” says Borduas, “but the Mobile Unit can be used to service homebound patients.” She cites lack of public transportation in the Northwest Corner as a problem in terms of obtaining health care. “We can travel to area homeless shelters and get to neighborhoods for people who cannot come to us.” 

As a community service of a different sort, CHCW will be adding 14 jobs to their team. They have hired advanced practice nurses (APRNs) for both medical and behavioral health, a licensed clinical social worker, front desk attendants, a site manager, chiropractor, and nurses and medical assistants. They are still in the process of recruiting a physician, and a registered nutritionist and diabetes educator will have office hours in the new center.

Borduas says that funding for the center has come from several sources, including a $1.3 million grant from the Foundation for Community Health, with an additional $650,000 from the foundation to be used for start-up costs. Funds have also come from the Berkshire Taconic Foundation, a state bond and Sharon Hospital. 

“This has been a project 20 years in the making. There are so many people to thank,” says Borduas. “It truly takes a village.”