Mashpee – The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has awarded multiple commendations to Community Health Center for outstanding quality improvement. Most notably, Community Health Center has received Silver Certification as a Health Center Quality Leader based on quality measures they implement for the patients they serve. In addition to this award, Community Health Center has been recognized with a number of other honors, including the following.
Access Enhancer, recognizing CHCs that increased the total number of patients and the number of patients who receive at least one comprehensive service by at least 5% during consecutive years. Advancing HIT for Quality, recognizing CHCs that meet all criteria to optimize Health Information Technology (HIT) services. Addressing Social Risk Factors, recognizing CHCs that are screening for social risk factors impacting patient health, and are increasing access to enabling services. Health Disparities Reducer, recognizing CHCs that qualify for the Access Enhancer award, and meet clinical measures related to low birth weight, hypertension control and uncontrolled diabetes. Patient-Centered Medical Home Recognition (PCMH), recognizing CHCs with PCMH Recognition in one or more delivery sites.
“Community Health Center staff have been continuously working together in order to mitigate lapses in our patient’s health maintenance,” said Dr. Kristy Brown, CHC’s Associate Medical Director for Quality Improvement. “We are focusing on what can be done beyond their visits to ensure they are engaged in their own wellness. With new programs such as Remote Patient Monitoring and Lifestyle Medicine, we are able to take a more comprehensive approach to care for our community.”
These awards recognize the highest-performing health centers nationwide as well as the health centers that have made significant quality improvement gains from the previous year.
Mashpee – Community Health Center is proud to welcome Dr. Karoline Sieracki, MD and Ellen Ficks, NP to CHC’s staff.
Dr. Karoline Sieracki received her Doctor of Medicine from the Universidad Federal do Parana in Curitiba, PR, Brazil, followed by her internal medicine residency at Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Sieracki is a member of the American College of Physicians, Society of Hospital Medicine and American Medical Association. She has an extensive history of volunteerism across the country as a general physician and is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Dr. Sieracki is practicing in Community Health Center’s Bourne office at 123 Waterhouse Road.
Ellen Ficks, NP received her Master of Science in Clinical Psychology from Bridgewater State College, before attending Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions in Boston, where she received her Master of Science in Nursing. Ms. Ficks has an array of experience, with over 10 years working as a Nurse Practitioner in different clinical settings before joining Community Health Center. She also holds multiple licensures for mental health counseling and suboxone administration. She currently sees patients in CHC’s Mashpee office located at 107 Commercial Street.
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.
Falmouth – Community Health Center is pleased to announce the addition of a new Retail Pharmacy conveniently located 200 Jones Road, adjacent to the existing CHC Falmouth office in Homeport. The Falmouth pharmacy is open to all in the community, even if you are not a CHC patient, and provides new and refill prescription services, vaccines, mobileRx prescription management smartphone app, and various over the counter medications.
“One in every five Falmouth residents are current CHC patients and more individuals and businesses move into the area ever year,” said John Correira RPh, Director of Pharmacy Services at Community Health Center. “At the new Community Health Center Retail Pharmacy in Falmouth our welcoming staff will be able to provide much-needed prescription access and medication services to the growing local community.”
CHC Pharmacists serve as a valuable resource to ensure customers fully understand their medications, are educated about any possible harmful interactions, and find alternatives to reduce the cost and number of medications taken. The Falmouth Retail Pharmacy hours of operation are Monday through Friday, from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. All Community Health Center pharmacies, including the Bourne and Mashpee locations, accept nearly all insurances. If you do not have health insurance, staff at CHC can provide help with the health insurance application.
Falmouth – Community health centers celebrate National Health Center Week annually, as a way to raise awareness and engage the community in the mission and accomplishments of health centers across the country. Health Center Week this year will be held from August 7 to 13, and will focus on the “Chemistry for Strong Communities.”
During this week, Community Health Center will host two open houses to highlight the newly opened offices that will provide increased access to care to the community. All are welcome to join these free events to learn more about Community Health Center and its services, tour the new offices, meet the staff, and enjoy some light refreshments, giveaways and raffles.
Community Health Center’s new retail pharmacy in Falmouth is available for both CHC patients and non-patients, and is located at 200 Jones Road in Homeport. The open house for the CHC Falmouth Pharmacy will be on Tuesday, August 9 from 10:00am to 12:00pm.
CHC’s new office in North Falmouth offers gynecology, women’s health and primary care services, and will add a lifestyle medicine program in 2023. The open house for the CHC North Falmouth office will be on Thursday, August 11 from 11:30am to 1:30pm, and the office islocated at 26 Edgerton Drive.
Health Center Week serves as a reminder of the importance of community health centers’ services and roles in combatting the barriers to access that make quality health care inaccessible for so many in the country. Community Health Center welcomes the public to join in this year’s celebration, and to learn more about the services and programs available at CHC.
Mashpee – Community Health Center will host its 22nd Annual Golf Tournament at Pocasset Golf Club on Monday, September 12. The Annual Golf Tournament serves as a significant fundraising opportunity for CHC, and supports their mission to comprehensive, high quality, compassionate health care to all, regardless of ability to pay. This event plays a vital role in helping CHC address social determinants of health, such as housing insecurity, food insecurity, transportation challenges, employment challenges, language barriers, and access to affordable health care. Sponsorship, golfing and volunteer opportunities are now open for this popular Tournament on September 12!
Event Date: Monday, September 12, 2022
Event Timing: Late morning: Registration and lunch
Early afternoon: Shotgun start
Early evening: Dinner, awards, raffle and auction
Event Location: Pocasset Golf Club, 24 Club House Drive, Pocasset, MA 02559
Event Contact: Christopher Ellis
Event Contact Phone: (508) 477-5990
Event Contact Email: [email protected]
Event Website: www.chcofcapecod.org/golf
Community Health Center is happy to announce a Request for Proposal (RFP) for Remote Patient Monitoring. Earlier this year, CHC was selected by the Health Resources and Services Administration as a grant recipient for “Optimizing Virtual Care”. This grant award will complement existing resources and facilitate organizational expansion of telehealth initiatives including, virtual visits, remote patient monitoring, chat-based interactions and other technology – enabled modalities.
The main goals for expanding telehealth initiatives include:
Key dates for this RFP are:
To access the full RFP document, please click here. If you have any questions about the RFP, please contact Karen Gardner, Community Health Center Chief Executive Officer at [email protected].
Sandwich – The Sandwich community is invited to an informational meeting to discuss substance use disorders and overdose deaths. The in-person meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 25 from 4:30-6:30 pm at the Sandwich Library Community Room at 142 Main Street.
As overdose deaths continue to rise in the community, Sandwich remains the only town on the Upper Cape without a dedicated substance use coalition. The purpose of this meeting is to hear local concerns related to opioid use and substance use disorders, and to discuss community efforts to address these issues, including the possible formation of a coalition. All members of the community are invited to join this solution-focused discussion, including parents, youth, people with lived experience, town leaders, and representatives from various sectors within the community (education, law enforcement, religion, business, local government, media, healthcare, harm reduction). Light snacks and refreshments will be served.
For more information about this event, please email Erin Ralston, Community Coordinator at Community Health Center at [email protected].
This meeting is being organized by coalition members of the Bourne and Sandwich HEALing Communities Study-Massachusetts Coalition, convened by Boston Medical Center and sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This study aims to decrease opioid-related fatalities in Bourne and Sandwich and 15 other Massachusetts communities. To learn more about this study, please visit HEALTogetherMA.org/Barnstable.
Falmouth – The Massachusetts HEALing Communities Study will host a faith community forum on opioid use and overdose prevention on Thursday, May 19 from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, with complimentary dinner and refreshments provided from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. The forum will provide information about the many pathways available to face the challenges of opioid addiction and ways to provide resources to those struggling with substance use disorder. The free event is open to the public and will be held at Saint Barnabas’s Episcopal Church, 91 Main Street in Falmouth.
This event is being hosted by Reverend Will Mebane of Saint Barnabas’s Episcopal Church and Rabbi Elias Lieberman of the Falmouth Jewish Congregation, and will feature personal stories of recovery from community members. A panel discussion will feature Sarah Bagley, MD, Boston Medical Center; Nancy Regan, Nurse Practitioner and Manager of Substance Use Disorder Program, Community Health Center; Kate Lena, Substance Use Prevention Program Manager, Barnstable County Human Services; and Jeff Rose Sr., Recovery Coach, Community Health Center. The Community Harm Reduction and Treatment (CHART) mobile van will also be at the event and will offer an optional naloxone training to those interested in learning how to reverse an opioid overdose.
Through personal stories and an engaging panel discussion, this forum will address faith-based communities’ response to the opioid epidemic and discuss topics such as talking to loved ones who are struggling with addiction; the role of mental health in addiction; the use and benefits of medications for opioid use disorder; recovery coaching and peer support; and harm reduction principles and benefits.
This program is part of the Bourne and Sandwich HEALing Communities Study-Massachusetts Coalition, convened by Boston Medical Center and sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The coalition is attended by a multi-disciplinary group of community stakeholders including local and state government, public health and health care agencies, harm reduction agencies, criminal justice and law enforcement, recovery centers, and individuals with lived experience. This study aims to decrease opioid-related fatalities in Bourne and Sandwich and 15 other Massachusetts communities. To learn more about this study, and other programs to help individuals with substance use disorders, please visit www.HEALTogetherMA.org/Barnstable.
For more information about the event or to RSVP, please email Anna Martin at [email protected].
Centerville – In keeping with Community Health Center’s mission to increase access to care and meet the needs of the community, they are pleased to announce the addition of primary care services to their Centerville office located at 1185B Falmouth Road, provided by Dr. Emily McClure. The addition of this highly requested service in Centerville will allow patients even greater flexibility and convenience when selecting where to receive their health care. Primary care services include routine care, dealing with chronic illness, health screenings, immunizations, and more. The CHC Centerville office will also continue to provide walk-in care with convenient hours on Monday – Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Dr. McClure will begin accepting new patients in January.
Dr. Emily McClure joins Community Health Center after many years in solo family practice in Decatur, AL, treating patients from 8 to 108 years of age. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Bowdoin College in Maine, before attending Yale University School of Medicine where she received her Master of Public Health in Infectious Disease Epidemiology. Dr. McClure earned her Doctor of Medicine at University of Tennessee, Memphis and completed her residency in family practice at the University of California San Francisco’s rural health campus in Fresno. She is a member of the American Board of Family Practice and is able to speak and write in medical Spanish with patients.
p: 508-477-7090
f: 508-477-7028
123 Waterhouse Rd.
Bourne, MA 02532
1185B Falmouth Rd.
Centerville, MA 02632
210 Jones Rd.
Falmouth, MA 02540
26 Edgerton Dr.
N. Falmouth, MA 02556
