May 9, 2023

EXTRAORDINARY NURSE RECOGNIZED BY COLLEAGUES AT LOWELL CHC

LOWELL, MA – Alexandra Gray, RN, a Pediatric Nurse at Lowell Community Health Center, has been honored by her colleagues with The DAISY Award® For Extraordinary Nurses. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s programs nationwide to recognize the extraordinary care nurses provide every day. The award was presented during National Nurses Week.

Alex is Lowell Community Health Center’s second annual Daisy Award recipient. Lowell Community Health Center was the first community health center in the nation to begin present the Daisy Award annually.

“Alex truly exemplifies the vision and mission of the Daisy Awards,” said Dr. Elizabeth Hale, RN, DNP, Lowell Community Health Center’s Chief Operating Officer. “She is a shining example of nursing at its best, providing extraordinary compassionate and skillful care for our community’s pediatric patients as she supports, mentors, and uplifts her colleagues.”  

Alex, who joined Lowell Community Health Center in 2021 said, “I am incredibly honored and shocked by this meaningful recognition from my colleagues. It is such a privilege and honorable responsibility to care for the children of our community, and I am so grateful to be working with colleagues and a health center so dedicated to providing caring, quality, and culturally rooted health services to the people we serve. I strive to show up every day with a smile and I hope to continue to encourage my fellow colleagues to provide optimal care to the community.”

The colleagues who nominated Alex spoke highly of her skill and compassion:

  • “Alex truly embodies an enduring commitment to promoting health equity for all of the patients she has met or worked with in the health center.”
  • “Alex creates a positive experience for patient coming into the health center, even for the pediatric patients who may be absolutely terrified to be there.”
  • “Alex goes above and beyond to help her patients receive the care they need.”
  • “Alex rises to each challenge with an open mind, a smile, and so much positivity.”
  • “Alex is a true mentor to all of her colleagues, and her supportive nature makes her an excellent teacher.”

An acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune SYstem, The DAISY Foundation was formed in November 1999 by the family of J. Patrick Barnes who died at age 33 of complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP). The nursing care Patrick and his family received while he was ill inspired his family to create this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of patients and their families. 

Said Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, Doctor of Humane Letters and Co-Founder of The DAISY Foundation, “We wanted to give patients, families, and co-workers an easy way to express their gratitude for nurses who provide extraordinary, compassionate care. The work the nurses at Lowell Community Health Center are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of the DAISY Award.”

In addition to the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, the Foundation expresses gratitude to

the nursing profession internationally in over 5,000 healthcare facilities and schools of nursing with recognition of Nurse-led Teams, Nurse Leaders, Nurses Advancing Health Equity,

Nursing Faculty, Nursing Students, Lifetime Achievement in Nursing and through the J. Patrick Barnes Grants for Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Projects, Medical Mission Grants, and their new Health Equity Grant programs. More information is available at http://DAISYfoundation.org.       

About Lowell Community Health Center:

Founded in 1970, Lowell Community Health Center serves as the “family doctor” for nearly half of Lowell’s population, by providing “caring, quality, and culturally appropriate health services to the people of Greater Lowell, regardless of their financial status.” For information, visit www.lchealth.org or call 978.937.9700.

Parking Alert For The Edward Early Garage (across from the Health Center)

UPDATE (4/14/23): Maintenance Work Now Expected To Last Through May 1st.

Notice from the City of Lowell: The second-floor left side parking spaces will be closed for maintenance from Friday April 7, 2023 until Friday April 14, 2023. Please use caution while driving on the right side as it will be utilized as both an entrance and exit during this period. Garage staff reminds us that the speed limit is 5 miles per hour in the garage. Anyone parking on the left side in the cordoned off maintenance area will be towed at their own expense.

April 5, 2023

Congresswoman Trahan Announces $2,769,246 in Federal Funding for Lowell Community Health Center

LOWELL, MA – Today, U.S. Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) joined representatives from Lowell Community Health Center (CHC), and MA Representative Vanna Howard to announce a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grant to provide direct patient services to Afghan survivors of combat. The Services to Afghan Survivors Impacted by Combat (SASIC) program at Lowell CHC’s Metta Health Center will be receiving a three-year grant, totaling $2,769,246.  

Of the 24 organizations across the country to be awarded SASIC funding, the Metta Health Center at Lowell Community Health Center was the only New England site selected.   

“Lowell Community Health Center is a bedrock in our community, and I’m proud to be a longtime supporter of their work. They provide quality, culturally competent care to folks from all backgrounds in our diverse district, and there’s no better example of that than the Metta Health Center,” said Congresswoman Lori Trahan. “I’m excited to see this federal funding go toward expanding the holistic work the Metta Health Center already does for families from all walks of life in the Third District. And I’m particularly glad to see our community come together to support Afghan refugees, just as we have in the past for refugees from all over the world.”  

“This funding will allow us to help Afghan survivors address and overcome severe, pervasive, and long-lasting combat-related trauma and facilitate their achievement of sustained physical, social, emotional, and economic goals and well-being. Lowell is a diverse and welcoming community, and this collaborative program allows us to support some of our city’s newest arrivals while continuing to build a just and healthy community,” said Susan West Levine, CEO of Lowell Community Health Center. “We are incredibly grateful to the Department of Health and Human Services, and to Congresswoman Trahan and MA Representative Howard for their strong support of Lowell Community Health Center.” 

The Services for Afghan Survivors Impacted by Combat (SASIC) program will provide coordinated care and services for up to 125 eligible Afghan survivors, delivering culturally tailored, integrated, trauma-informed, and evidence-based primary care and behavioral health care services; workforce-related, legal, community outreach, and other supports to promote well-being, self-sufficiency, and community engagement among the eligible Afghan population.   

“The individuals and families who will directly benefit from this dedicated funding have complex medical, mental health, legal, and social needs that require a comprehensive and holistic response,” said Dr. Robert P. Marlin, Chief of Metta Health Center. “Without the support and collaboration of the International Institute of New England, the Political Asylum/Immigration Representation Project, and Dr. Diya Kallivayalil, this work would not be possible.”  

The SASIC program is receiving HHS funding through the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).  

In November, Congresswoman Trahan announced $2,375,000 in HHS funding for Lowell CHC’s “Passage to Healing” program, which provides primary and secondary survivors of torture with treatment and resources such as culturally tailored and evidence-based screenings, primary and behavioral health care, and workforce-related and legal support. The project is designed to serve as many as 325 survivors of torture annually. 

About Lowell Community Health Center      

Founded in 1970, Lowell CHC serves as the “family doctor” for nearly half of Lowell’s population, seeking to “provide caring, quality, and culturally appropriate health services to the people of Greater Lowell, regardless of their financial status.” For information, visit www.lchealth.org or call 978.937.9700.   

March 27, 2023

Dr. Ria Roberts of Lowell CHC Recognized for Service to Others

Ria Roberts, M.D., a geriatric medicine physician at Lowell Community Health Center, received the prestigious 2023 George H. Kaye Alumni Award for Outstanding Service to Others from the Biomedical Science Careers Program (BCSP) at Harvard Medical School.  

Click Here To Read More In The Lowell Sun

BCSP is a professional organization that provides support and mentoring for underrepresented minority students from 391 schools around the world who are pursuing careers in medicine, health, and the biomedical sciences. Dr. Roberts took part in this program as a college and medical school student, and now proudly serves as a mentor and student advisor.  

A native of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Roberts is a graduate of The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, DC. She completed her internship and residency training in Internal Medicine at Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven, CT, and completed her fellowship in Geriatrics at the Harvard Medical School Multicampus Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program. As a Geriatrician at Lowell Community Health Center, Dr. Roberts is developing a novel Geriatric Clinic, bringing her geriatric expertise to the health center’s most vulnerable and underserved populations, and currently serves as both a geriatric primary care physician and consultant.  

Dr. Roberts also has appointments at the Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, serving as a Clinical Instructor in Medicine at HMS. She also serves as Director for Diversity, Inclusion, and Advocacy for Graduate Medical Education and Director for Diversity Recruitment and Retention within the Department of Medicine, both at Beth Israel Deaconess. 

March 21, 2023
Dr. Daza Nunez

Lowell CHC Places High Priority on Childhood Literacy

Dr. Daza Nunez

Dr. Daza Nunez is carrying the torch for early literacy at Lowell CHC, where children receive brand new books during well-child visits through Reach out and Read.

Dr. Nunez has always had a love of language and community health. She speaks English and Spanish and is working hard to perfect her Portuguese. Lowell Community Health Center is the perfect place to sharpen her skills.

“I really love the values here … it means a lot to me to be part of a work place where I am not just a doctor, my background makes a difference, where I can understand the culture of my patients.”

Growing up in Colombia, Dr. Nunez always felt drawn to public service. The Reach Out and Read program brings her love for service to life. Dr. Nunez understands the impact reading has on our young patients. Reflecting the health center’s mission, she has ensured the program provides books in a number of languages to reflect our evolving patient population, including Portuguese, Dari and Pashto, much to the delight of newly arrived patients from Afghanistan.

“I love absolutely everything about this reading program” Dr. Daza Nunez says. “It goes beyond just promoting literacy. It’s about a connection between parents, their children, and our providers. It creates such benefits for families. When they see and interact with these beautiful books, especially in their own language, it means so much.”

Our whole-child model of care is only possible thanks to community support.

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March 14, 2023

Lowell CHC CEO, and Chief Engagement & Equity Officer, Join Lori Trahan For Listening Session on Lessons from COVID

LOWELL — Are we ready for the next pandemic? What lessons were learned?

These questions were discussed during a pandemic preparedness roundtable hosted by U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan at UKG on Monday. She was joined by Massachusetts Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh, and 15 area health care leaders, in a frank conversation about recovering from and preparing for the next COVID-style biothreat…

Michael Curry, who is president and chief operating officer of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, said his biggest takeaway from the pandemic was that community partnerships worked. He was one of four such nonprofits represented at the table.

That observation was endorsed by CEO Susan Levine of the Lowell Community Health Center.

“We reach over half the population in the city of Lowell,” Levine said. “We learned during the pandemic how critical community health centers are in being the trusted providers of care for our communities.”

Read the full article in The Sun

March 13, 2023

Building a Just and Healthy Community

Ten years ago, Lowell Community Health Center moved into its new home in a renovated textile mill building on Jackson Street. Our staff, patients, and community knew then that creating a welcoming, dignified space reflecting the quality of care provided would be transformational. It has been.

Over the past decade, our number of patients has increased by more than 50%, we’ve added dental and eye care services, and expanded our work out in the community. In all, we reach nearly 50,000 people a year, in and outside of the exam room. Our staff has also more than doubled, now numbering 500.

Read the full article on the Lowell Sun by clicking here.

Read the full article as a pdf

March 8, 2023

Traffic Alert for March 8th

Attention Patients and Staff – Lowell Community Health Center has been alerted by the City of Lowell that on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, Central Street traffic will be temporarily halted for work between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM. Those traveling by vehicle or walking in that area should expect delays.

The traffic impacts are to accommodate bridge beam installation on Central Street over the Pawtucket Canal.

For more details about the City of Lowell’s advisory, information about the project, and tips for staying up-to-date on traffic conditions in Lowell, please visit the City’s website: https://www.lowellma.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=700

February 19, 2023
Melanie Gilbert/Lowell Sun

Lowell High students ‘seen’ at new school-based eye clinic

LOWELL — Lowell High School senior Alice Mwangi knew she needed to get her eyes checked when she started using her phone to take pictures of the whiteboard in class. She used the zoom feature to blow up the image on her screen in order to see the teacher’s notes.

“I also noticed that I was doing a lot more squinting in class,” she said.

Instead of continuing to struggle, Mwangi came down to the school-based health center, located in the basement of Lowell High School, to get an eye exam. It’s a service that the Lowell Community Health Center recently added to the existing suite of health care already available to students.

Read the full story via The Sun.

January 19, 2023

Lowell Community Health Center Announces Appointment of New Chief Operating Officer 

(Lowell, MA) – Lowell Community Health Center (Lowell CHC) has announced that Elizabeth Hale DNP, RN, CENP, will assume the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO), effective immediately.  

Dr. Elizabeth Hale DNP, RN, CENP

Dr. Hale currently serves as Lowell CHC’s Chief Clinical Officer overseeing all clinical operations including nursing, clinical pharmacy, infection prevention, quality, integrated care management, behavioral health, occupational health, school-based health centers, and laboratory services. In this new and expanded role, Dr. Hale will continue to provide oversight for these services, and in addition will work to assure that our health center operations are aligned and integrated across our organization, with a focus on patient access, equity, experience, and quality of care.   

“I am delighted that Beth has accepted this challenge,” said Susan West Levine, CEO of Lowell CHC. “Beth’s knowledge of health care operations and commitment to excellent patient care make her a tremendous leader for the COO role.”  

Levine continued, “Beth will launch a broad, solutions-oriented operations team comprised of leaders across the organization that will focus on continuous performance improvement, identify timely solutions to operational challenges, ensure compliance with regulatory agencies, and provide a forum to respond to urgent matters as they arise.”    

Dr. Hale joined Lowell CHC in September 2015 as Chief of Clinical Services. During her tenure, she earned her Doctorate in Nursing Practice from the University of New Hampshire and served as Incident Commander, successfully leading us, and our community, through the COVID pandemic response and, now, recovery.  

Dr. Hale earned both her MSN in Nursing and her Doctorate in Nursing Practice from the University of New Hampshire. Prior to working at Lowell CHC, she served as Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer at Lawrence General Hospital and, prior to that, as Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer at the Elliot Hospital in Manchester, NH.