Stuart I. Forman, M.Ed., Ph.D., FACHE, has been President and CEO of the Greater New Bedford Community Health Center since 1990.
He is board certified in healthcare management through the American College of Healthcare Executives and is a Fellow of that organization. He spent 14 years with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health building national model programs for disenfranchised populations and held an Assistant Professorship in Family and Community Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
In recognition of his work, he became a recipient of the Manuel Carballo Governor’s Award for Excellence in Public Service, the Commonwealth’s highest honor in public service.
August 5 – 11 is National Community Health Center Week. It has been 41 years since the first Health Center opened its doors at Columbia Point in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Massachusetts has been a leader in the field of health care, and it anticipated what would become a national movement in community health to relieve any barrier to a person’s access to comprehensive primary medical and dental care. Today, there are 48 Health Centers in Massachusetts and well over 2000 nationally.
Health Centers service the state and the nation as access points primarily aimed at reducing barriers for people who suffer health disparities. Health Centers are culturally and linguistically sensitive public health and prevention oriented, and represent millions of people nationally who are uninsured.
In Massachusetts, Health Centers are at the forefront of our new Health Care Reform Act. We provide front line access to care for everyone in need. We partner with public, private, and philanthropic organizations, all of whom are concerned to create healthy and vibrant communities for everyone.
The real question to be asked, today, is what would happen to our community were the Health Center not to exist? Clearly, medical, dental, and nutritional care would be interrupted to some 25-26,000 people. From a public health perspective, there would be an exacerbation of illnesses currently managed by the Health Center such as diabetes, asthma, and HIV/AIDS. Current levels of both childhood and adult immunization would be affected. Citywide, 25,000 people are under the care of the Health Center. Statewide, over 700,000 individuals are cared for by the 48 Health Centers in Massachusetts. Nationally, over 12 million uninsured persons receive care through Community Health Centers.
The Congress has invested $750 million in new funding for Health Centers, nationally, over the past six years. As a result, more people have been able to receive care that is continuous, rather than episodic, unnecessary ER visits have been reduced, and preventive health services have been increased. The gains to our city, the state, and the nation are obvious.
Health centers are also economic engines to our communities. In New Bedford, the Greater New Bedford Community Health Center returns over $20 million in goods, services, and taxes to our community as well as $2.6 million in food vouchers spent in our area. Our downtown campus has brought state of the art medical, dental, nutritional, and preventive programs to the center of our city, and as such, we are a major cornerstone in the revitalization of the downtown community.