The Community Health Center in Middletown is opening its 13th medical office and planting its first flag in the Brass City.
The Middletown not-for-profit health care provider, which serves mostly the uninsured or underinsured, is opening a new full service medical center on North Elm St. in Waterbury.
The $1.2 million project consisted of a renovation of the former St. Mary’s Family Health Center, located in the heart of downtown. The completed site currently employs 10 full-time and one part-time employee, including three primary care providers, two medical assistants, one dental hygienist, one psychologist and one psychiatric nurse practitioner.
The center offers comprehensive primary medical, behavioral health and dental hygiene services for all ages and provides assistance with application for public insurance and other support programs.
The expansion includes nine state-of-the-art medical exam rooms, a behavioral health group room, a dental hygiene room and a pod where teams of doctors, nurses and medical assistants can interact regularly, share knowledge and collaboratively brainstorm and problem solve.
CHC is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), which means as part of its funding it receives grants from the federal government to provide primary care, including medical, dental and behavioral health services, to people regardless of their ability to pay.
“The need for access to primary care services continues to grow across the state, particularly among the uninsured and underinsured,” said Dr. Nwando Olayiwola, chief medical director at Community Health Center, Inc. “CHC has positioned itself to be responsive to this critical need with this new site, which allows us to increase access to care for Waterbury’s residents through CHC’s model of high-level, responsive, team-based primary care.”
