Community Health Center of Cape Cod is happy to announce the hire of two Nutrition and Wellness providers: Dena Irwin, RDN and Alyssa Sharp, RDN.

Ms. Dena Irwin, RDN is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Registered Yoga Teacher. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Food and Nutrition from Framingham State College and completed her Yoga Teacher Training at Sanctuary Studios in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Ms. Irwin has helped people to improve their health as a Nutritionist in community hospitals, diabetes centers, and senior living centers. She practices integrative nutrition, using whole foods healing and taking account of the whole person (body, mind, spirit). Ms. Irwin lives in Plymouth.

Ms. Alyssa Sharp, RDN is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Dietetics from Point Loma Nazarene University and her Master of Science degree in Nutrition from University of North Florida. Ms. Sharp has worked as a dietitian for Fitness 500 Club and served as a Nutrition Educator for the Florida Department of Health in Duval County. She is a member of the Massachusetts Dietetic Association and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Ms. Sharp lives in Osterville.

Nutrition services are offered to all CHC of Cape Cod patients who need them. Using a model of integrated care, CHC Nutritionists communicate with a patient’s primary care provider to devise an appropriate treatment plan, and progress is tracked by the healthcare team.  CHC of Cape Cod also offers a wellness programming to patients to help them prevent and control chronic health conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes and falls among the elderly. Patients in the wellness programs are referred to health, social, wellness and fitness activities provided by community partners at no cost to the patient. For more information about Nutrition and Wellness services at CHC of Cape Cod, visit CHCofCapeCod.org

Mashpee – Community Health Center of Cape Cod is one of 10 community health centers to have been selected to participate in the inaugural cohort of the GE Foundation-funded SUSTAIN Communities (Substance Use Support & Technical Assistance In Communities) initiative. With additional assistance from Partners HealthCare, the ten health centers will receive customized coaching, training and support to build capacity for the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders in their communities.

The awardees are: Boston Health Care for the Homeless, Brockton Neighborhood Health Center, Caring Health Center, Codman Square Health Center, Community Health Center of Cape Cod, DotHouse Health, East Boston Neighborhood Health Center, Lowell Community Health Center, Mattapan Community Health Center and South End Community Health Center.

The Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers will manage the program, which will include executive coaching on change management, on-site peer mentoring for addiction services and case-based team learning sessions. Furthermore, participating health centers will receive a $50,000 stipend for multi-disciplinary care teams to commit time to this initiative.

Community Health Center of Cape Cod believes everyone deserves accessible, affordable, high-quality care and is committed to expanding medical and behavioral health services for substance use disorder prevention and treatment. CHC of Cape Cod plans to expand access to care for at least 900 individuals over the next two years. It also aims to implement a Structured Outpatient Addictions Program (SOAP) to strengthen integration with behavioral health services and to expand its scope beyond substance abuse to overall pain and addictions management.

Click here to read a feature article in The Falmouth Enterprise about the concerns of rising healthcare costs in the State and how community health centers, like CHC of Cape Cod, can help offer a solution. CEO Karen Gardner is featured in the article!

Click here to read Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Jessica Burgess write about the risks associated with Substance Use Disorder and our approach to treatment at CHC of Cape Cod.

CHC of Cape Cod will host a Substance Use Drop-In Night the first Tuesday of every month beginning in June from 4-8 p.m. Launched by the Mashpee Substance Use Task Force, the drop-in night will provide treatment options, counseling and education to individuals and families struggling with substance use and addiction. Click here to read The Mashpee Enterprise article for more details!

Community Health Center of Cape Cod is providing STAR Quality training for all staff in Lean principles as part of its commitment to continuous quality improvement. The mission of this training is to ensure the use of improvement techniques to implement strategic plans that are both efficient and effective in improving patient care. The effort is supported in part with a grant from Neighborhood Health Plan and is delivered by Dan Fleming, an expert in Lean from GBMP.

All CHC staff is participating in three 4-hour sessions covering the following topics: Basics of lean in healthcare, workplace organization, A3 problem solving and team based process Kaizen.  In addition, CHC will begin to implement Gemba Walks, which brings managers into the real workplace to observe workflow problems and derive solutions. Managers from every department will be rotating through the entire organization to learn more about departmental work flow and to provide oversight, education and resources to foster a culture of sustained continuous improvement. STAR Quality stands for Strategies and Techniques for Achieving Results.

Mashpee – Community Health Center of Cape Cod is happy to announce the hire of two providers: Rick Renner, PA-C and Maryanne Bombaugh, MD, MBA, MSc, CPE, FACOG. Rick Renner, P.A.-C is a Physician’s Assistant who has 41 years’ experience in family, occupational, pain and addiction medicine, and urgent care. He is certified by the National Commission of Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) and a member the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA). Mr. Renner has worked in urgent care at Seacoast Emergency Physicians in Dover, New Hampshire, and in Internal Medicine/Family Practice at Salmon Falls Family Healthcare in Somersworth, New Hampshire. He received his B.A. from Hobart College and his PA-C from Northeastern University. He is licensed in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Mr. Renner’s collaborating physician is Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Tager, and he is responsible for providing care in the walk- in, urgent care setting.

Dr. Maryanne Bombaugh is a gynecologist in the Women’s Health Clinic. Prior to working at Community Health Center of Cape Cod, she was on the medical staff at Good Samaritan Medical Center and Carney Hospital, and served as Medical Director at Bay View Women’s Health in Sandwich.  She is currently Chair of the Massachusetts Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, having served in this role since 2014. Recently she served as Executive Medical Director of Population Health and the Medical Director for Quality and Patient Safety at Reliant Medical Group and previously as the Associate Medical Director for Quality for the Steward Health Care Network.  Dr. Bombaugh is a delegate to the AMA from Massachusetts, and was recently nominated for Vice President of the Massachusetts Medical Society by its physicians. Dr. Bombaugh received her medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, an MBA from the Isenberg School of Management and a MSc from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.   She is board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and received certification in medical management from the American College of Physician Executives.  Dr. Bombaugh received the Meritorious Service Medal from the USA as Chief of Gynecology Service for the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at Walter Reed Army Medical Center from 1984-1992, completing her military service at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as the Division Chief in Gynecology.

Click here to read a feature article from The Mashpee Enterprise about the Commonwealth Conversations roundtable discussion with Massachusetts State Senators that started at CHC of Cape Cod.

Click here to read the complete Cape Cod Times article about the Commonwealth Conversations with Massachusetts State Senators that began here at Community Health Center of Cape Cod!

Senator Michael Brady, Second Plymouth and Bristol district; Senator Julian Cyr, Cape and Islands district; and Senator Vinny deMacedo, Plymouth and Barnstable district will be hosting a roundtable discussion on the Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund (PWTF) and funding for Community Health Centers on Tuesday, March 7.  Various members of the Barnstable County PWTF Partnership will be in attendance to discuss this partnership, and to discuss other community public health priorities.  The event will be held at Community Health Center of Cape Cod’s Mashpee office.

Please consider joining us to cover this event.  More information is below:

Event Date: Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Time: 9:15 am – 10:30 am

Location: Community Health Center of Cape Cod (Park in the upper lot and use main entrance)
107 Commercial Street, Mashpee, MA 02649

Media Contact: Chris Ellis

Media Contact Phone: (914) 433-0926 (day of event)

Media Contact Email: [email protected]