Click on the link below to hear Cape Cod Talks Addiction’s interview with CHC of Cape Cod staff members: Director of Clinical Operations, Suzanne Robbins; Nurse and Addiction Program Coordinator, Jen Monaghan; Development Associate, Alexandra Speck. Hosted by CodComm’s Sarah Colvin.

Community Health Center

Mashpee – Community Health Center of Cape Cod is one of five Cape nonprofits to receive a Community Impact Strategic Focus Grant from The Cape Cod Foundation this year. The Health Center received $10,000 from The Jean B. Edgerly Memorial Fund and The Janet T. Spence Fund of The Cape Cod Foundation to support the expansion of its substance abuse treatment programming. In particular, grant funds will allow for increased outpatient, medication-assisted treatment, and they will help to expand programming to provide partial-day treatment, including intensive, integrated wellness, medical and mental health counseling. Currently, Community Health Center of Cape Cod provides more than 5,500 substance abuse-related visits annually. The Health Center aims to multiply these numbers to provide nearly 9,200 visits.

The Cape Cod Foundation recently announced that it would award $48,500 in strategic grants to nonprofits that provide preservation, health, employment, and educational services. Other grant recipients include, Association to Preserve Cape Cod, Duffy Health Center, Lower Cape Outreach Council, and Mass Audubon Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary & the Sanctuaries of the Mid and Upper Cape.  To learn more about the Health Center’s substance abuse programming, please visit: chcofcapecod.org/services/substance-abuse.

Click here to read the Cape Cod Times article about the Bourne office expansion amidst the changing political climate.

Bourne – Community Health Center of Cape Cod continues to grow, and is expanding its Bourne location to meet the increasing demands for healthcare and a surge in patients. This expansion will increase access to primary care and behavioral health services, and will also add pharmacy and dental services in Bourne. Currently, dental and pharmacy services are only available in the Health Center’s Mashpee location.

The Health Center serves more than 15,000 patients, including 1 in 15 residents in Bourne. Residents from the villages of Bourne, along with other off-Cape areas, such as Plymouth, Wareham, Caver and Rochester comprise the fastest growing population of newly-registered patients at the Health Center. This project will allow the Health Center to provide a better quality of care due to improved privacy and comfort, upgraded equipment and technology, providing increased access to integrated care to more patients.

 “It will be great to offer these services to our patients in Bourne,” Chief Operating Officer Katy O’Connell said. The Health Center’s Bourne facility is conveniently located for patients both on- and off-Cape at 123 Waterhouse Road, just a mile and a half from the Bourne Bridge. Community Health Center of Cape Cod also has offices in Mashpee and Falmouth.

Mashpee – Community Health Center of Cape Cod is happy to announce the promotion of two employees. Katy O’Connell has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer. In this capacity, she will oversee patient access to care, quality improvement programs, and information technology. Ms. O’Connell will collaborate with Health Center clinical leadership to ensure programs and infrastructure support the health center’s patient centered medical home.  She has been with Community Health Center of Cape Cod for 10 years. She started as a data entry and grant writing volunteer, and for the past five years served as Chief Information Officer.

Christopher Ellis has been promoted to Senior Development Associate, where he oversees foundation relations and communications efforts for the Health Center. In his new role, Christopher will provide insight on fundraising components of the organization’s strategic plan and is overseeing a communications campaign to help increase awareness about the Health Center.  He has been with the organization for two years.

Mashpee – Community Health Center of Cape Cod is excited to welcome two new members to their Board of Directors: Otis M. Porter and Robert C. Anderson.

Otis M. Porter worked for Falmouth Public Schools as a History Teacher for more than 33 years. He also served on the Falmouth Police force in various capacities for 48 years. Mr. Porter received his B.A. and M.Ed. with a Concentration in History from Bridgewater State University. He earned a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGS) in Policy, Planning and Administration from Boston University, and a CAGS in Educational Leadership from Fitchburg State University. Mr. Porter is the current President of The Scholarship Association of Falmouth and its former Treasurer. He served as a former President of The Falmouth Historical Society and The Falmouth Public Library Support Fund, Inc. He resides in Falmouth, Massachusetts with his wife Nancy H. Porter, who is the President of the Board of Trustees of Highfield Hall.

Robert C. Anderson worked as a Vice President and Legal Counsel for Rolls-Royce, North America in Walpole for 12 years. Prior to that, he served as Vice President/Deputy General Counsel for GenCorp Inc. and Vice President/General Counsel for Aerojet General Corp. Mr. Anderson earned his JD from Suffolk University Law School and his BS from Carnegie Mellon University. He resides in Mashpee, Massachusetts with his wife Lorraine.

Mashpee– Community Health Center of Cape Cod (Health Center) patients are now able to participate in telepsychiatry visits from any of the three Health Center locations, in Falmouth, Mashpee and Bourne, connecting via video and audio teleconference to providers at any other Health Center site. Video conferencing allows for real-time, interactive exams with the health care provider at one site and the patient at another. This enables the provider to simulate the standard in-office patient visit, and is a convenient option for patients.

“The goal for this program is to increase access to care for all patients, and to ease the transportation barriers that patients may face,” says Telehealth Program Manager Emily Phillips. “These telehealth programs allow us to better connect our patients with their health care teams and to enhance continuity of care.”

Virtual visits with psychiatrists can improve access to quality, affordable healthcare, while reducing emergency room visits, hospitalizations and overall cost of care.

Telepsychiatry is just one component of the telehealth programming that has been incorporated into Community Health Center of Cape Cod’s continuum of care.  The Health Center began offering video interpreting services and remote patient monitoring earlier this year and will launch teleoptometry and teledermatology services in 2017. Telehealth provides an avenue to participate in the shift to value-based care by offering patients new ways to access healthcare, improving the quality of care for patients through sustained connections between clinician and patient and improving patient outcomes and experience.

Community Health Center of Cape Cod provides care to more than 15,000 individuals within a “complete medical home” model, where multidisciplinary, integrated health services are provided under one roof. This complete medical home model includes primary care, behavioral health care, dental care, gynecology, optometry, on-site affordable prescriptions and specialty services.

To learn more about the Health Center or their telepsychiatry services, please call 508-477-7090.

Mashpee – Community Health Center of Cape Cod has hired two dental surgeons to meet its increasing demand for dental services: Dr. Nicole Makhoul, D.D.S. and Dr. Aileen Han, D.D.S.

Dr. Nicole Makhoul is a Dental Surgeon with more than 20 years of experience. She received her D.D.S. and Bachelor of Science degrees from McGill University.  Dr. Makhoul practices all aspects of general restorative dentistry, hygiene and periodontics. Prior to joining the Health Center, she worked with the South End Community Health Center in Boston and was the owner/operator of a general dentistry practice in Montreal. Dr. Makhoul has extensive involvement in extracurricular activities relating to dentistry with a strong focus on public awareness campaigns.

Dr. Aileen Han received her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from The University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics and also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. At the University of Iowa, she was a recipient of the Dr. John M. & Hannah L. Roland Scholarship and graduated with Distinction in Public Health. Her dental experience includes externships at Broadlawns Medical Center Dental Clinic and Primary Health Care, Inc. in Des Moines, IA as well as the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics Admissions Clinic in Iowa City, IA.

CHC has a full-service dental clinic and oral health program in Mashpee for children and adults. It is located on the ground floor of the Health Center’s Mashpee office at 107 Commercial Street. Wheelchair-accessible and mobile dental services are available.  Other services include: annual exams, cleanings, x-rays, fillings, extractions, restorative procedures, and limited root canal services.