Falmouth – Community Health Center and YMCA Cape Cod are excited to announce their collaboration on the Upper Cape YMCA building project being planned on Brick Kiln Road in Falmouth, at the rear parcel of Christ Lutheran Church.  The facility will include aquatics, wellness, teen/intergenerational, youth and family programs and services.  The facility will also include space for Community Health Center to ensure that all people will have access to programs and services that focus on health, prevention and wellness, and reducing the incidence of chronic illness. 

Community Health Center and YMCA Cape Cod have a strong history of collaborating to improve the lives of children with asthma, seniors at risk for falling, individuals with diabetes and adults struggling with hypertension.  This partnership will leverage the resources and strengths of Community Health Center and YMCA Cape Cod, strengthening the health and wellness of the community through collaboration, shared facilities and joint programming. 

“This significant collaboration on the Upper Cape will expand care beyond the walls of CHC’s medical home, and will help people of all ages improve their health and prevent or control chronic illness,” said Karen Gardner, Chief Executive Officer at Community Health Center.  “Our community will get healthier together thanks to a comprehensive plan to create a place for youth, families, and adults to connect, and to learn to lead healthier lives.”

New program opportunities at Community Health Center’s location in this YMCA facility will include: primary care services; programs for children and teens focused on healthy eating, drug and alcohol abuse prevention; diabetes and nutrition education; health screenings for stroke risk, cancer, blood glucose, heart health and vision; presentations by CHC care teams about healthy living and eating, substance use, breast cancer awareness and emotional and psychological health; and support groups addressing diabetes, multiple sclerosis, living after loss and weight management. 

“The synergies between CHC and the YMCA are the wave of the future,” said Stacie Peugh, President and CEO of YMCA Cape Cod.  “Working collaboratively with health care providers to provide an integrated approach to serving the health and wellness needs of our community is visionary work we are proud to be co-leading with CHC.”

YMCA Cape Cod has been serving individuals on the Upper Cape for 60 years.  They started by providing wellness classes at Falmouth High School and now offer after-school programs, summer camp and early childhood education for children on the Upper Cape.  Community Health Center was founded in Falmouth, and currently has a facility and retail pharmacy at Homeport in downtown Falmouth, and facilities in North Falmouth and at the Falmouth Housing Authority.  CHC currently cares for 1 in 4 residents of Falmouth.  This partnership and new facility will enable the organizations to offer more programs and services to Upper Cape residents, supporting a vibrant quality of life for people of all ages and backgrounds. 

Plans for the Upper Cape facility are already in place, and memorandums of understanding have been created and signed between Community Health Center and YMCA Cape Cod on clinical services to be provided by CHC, and a pre-construction agreement.  The organizations are currently engaged in a two-year permitting and fundraising phase, with anticipated construction to begin after that time.