Over 30 years ago, a pediatrician named Dr. Whitfield was seeing children show up at his practice for their Kindergarten physicals who had not seen a doctor since birth or infancy. Children lacked immunizations, and many had medical problems and delays in language, social and cognitive skills due to isolation. He founded the Children's Health Program to provide health care for rural children who had no access to care. Children’s Health Program bought the Russell House on Castle Street from South Berkshire Visiting Nurse Foundation. This house became the only pediatric health clinic in South Berkshire County responding to the needs of “invisible” rural children living in poverty and isolation.
Staff traveled back roads in a station wagon to find children who needed care and help them access services. Shepherded by Dr. Whitfield and Children’s Health Program’s first Executive Director, Linda Small, the agency went on to create a range of parenting support and childhood education services (the Family Network), launched a WIC program, and initiated the First Steps program to provide early intervention therapies for children with delays or disabilities.
In 2000, after 25 years of serving children, the Children’s Health Program made a giant leap and obtained federal designation for its health center, opening the doors to adults and elders. Due to the tremendous dearth of health care services accessible to low income residents, the newly named Community Health Programs (CHP) caseload grew virtually overnight from 1,500 to over 4,000. Many adult patients were former pediatric patients who had received care at Children’s Health Program for their entire lives.
In 2007, CHP assumed ownership and responsibility for Barrington OB/GYN, a thriving practice in Great Barrington providing comprehensive women’s health care services to women of all ages. In 2008, the Neighborhood Health Center in Pittsfield transitioned to CHP ownership from Berkshire Health Systems to become CHP’s second federally qualified health center. Also in 2008, we opened the CHP Dental Center in response to the desperate need for accessible, affordable dental care in south Berkshire County. In another exciting development, in 2009 CHP acquired nearly 8 acres with 3 buildings on Stockbridge Road (Route 7) in Great Barrington, which will enable us to eventually consolidate most of CHP’s South County programs in one health and wellness ‘home’. In December, 2009, CHP’s Family Support Services united under one roof at this location to the great benefit of our Family Center, Early Intervention and WIC clients.
In the past year, CHP served over 7,500 of the most vulnerable residents of south and central Berkshire County. CHP remains the only primary care provider in Berkshire County that is accessible to all people, regardless of insurance status, immigrant status, or ability to pay.
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