CHEC is now part of Lowell Community Health Center. CHEC specializes in providing cross–training, education and professional development opportunities for local and regional outreach educators and their supervisors.

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CARE Network/SAFVE Program
Health Promotion
Multicultural Connections for Health
Southeast Asian Resources for Culture & Health
Support Groups & Community Offerings

Information on Heart Disease
Information on Depression
Information on Diabetes
Information on Diet and Nutrition

Main > Community Health

Lowell Community Health Center has developed several programs that assist patients in monitoring common health conditions. In addition to management programs for diabetes and hypertension, LCHC also offers prevention activities and information that address nutrition, diabetes, depression, trauma and cardiovascular health. Furthermore, patients are welcome to participate in support groups designed to help them cope with illness.

Throughout Lowell, a combination of several factors contribute to the overall health of the community. Federal and Massachusetts Department of Public Health data reflect the unique health and wellness needs of the population. Many of the Health Center's patients reflect the trends present in this health data. Below is a brief glimpse of the health status of Lowell.

Health Status

Lowell is Federally designated as a Medically Underserved Area & Health Professional Shortage Area; Asians as a Medically Underserved Population.

22%, or one of five residents of Lowell, is foreign born, compared to 12% statewide.

Torture and Trauma Impact: as a result of the Khmer Rouge experience over 50% of Cambodian adults suffer from moderate or severe mental health issues compared to 15% in the general U.S. population. Recent immigrants from African countries also experienced social disruption, war, trauma and famine.

According to 2000 Department of Public Health Birth Data, Cambodian and Dominican women levels of adequate prenatal care were 38.7% and 48.8% versus 84.2% overall statewide, with the Cambodian rate the lowest in Massachusetts.

Lowell has the 8th highest teen pregnancy rate in the state.

Chronic Disease Indicators

Rates of overweight and obesity that put people at increased risk for heart disease, stroke, and Type 2 diabetes, are higher than average.

Heart disease also continues to be the leading cause of death among Massachusetts’ residents. In Lowell heart disease, stroke and diabetes mellitus were higher than state age adjusted rates.

Lowell has the second highest heart disease age adjusted death rate out of all cities/towns in MA (populations over 40,000). For Southeast Asian adults, 15.9% of all deaths were due to stroke compared to 6.5% of all MA deaths.

The age adjusted death rate for diabetes among Hispanics (34.8) is much higher than for Whites (18.7).

According to the National Institute of Health, “without intervention, one in three children born in the year 2000 will develop diabetes in his or her lifetime. If that child is Hispanic and female, she has a one in two chance of developing diabetes in her lifetime.”