Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center Receives Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) 2017 Quality Improvement Award
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recognized Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center as a Health Center Quality Leader by awarding the organization with the 2017 Quality Improvement Award. This award is given to health centers that achieve the best overall clinical performance among all health centers, and that place in the top 30 percent of the adjusted quartile ranking for Clinical Quality Measures.
Health centers have been delivering affordable, accessible, comprehensive, and quality health care to patients for more than 50 years. There are currently over 1,400 health centers operating more than 11,000 service delivery sites in every state in the U.S., the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Pacific Basin, delivering patient-centered care and integrating medical, dental, mental health, substance abuse, behavioral health, and patient support services. This award ranks Kennedy CHC’s clinical performance at the top of the entirety of this network of health centers.
Susan Melucci, Director of Quality Improvement, commented, “Improved quality outcomes do not happen because of one person; quality outcomes are a shared achievement among every staff member, no matter their role. Our teams arrive every morning with energy, perseverance and a can-do attitude with the intention of making a difference however they can. Our teams have been challenged in many ways – to improve our patient’s access to care, improve quality outcomes and identifying and addressing health disparities – all in an efficient and cost effective manner. Every evening, they leave having raised the bar a little bit higher. We are so very proud to receive this award.“
For more information contact:
Paula Green, MPA, EdD
Vice President of Advancement
Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center
Paula.green@kennedychc.org
508.532.7305
The mission of Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center (Kennedy CHC) is to “help people live healthier lives.” We believe that everyone has a right to accessible, high quality, comprehensive, integrated and compassionate health care. As a community health center, Kennedy CHC has always provided comprehensive care to its patients, who are at disparate risk for chronic disease and poor health outcomes. Our vision is to be a constantly growing, financially sound, Federally Qualified Community Health Center that:
- efficiently delivers high quality, accessible primary care services.
- becomes the health care home and provider choice of all our patients.
- achieves excellence in outcomes with our patients as partners.
- remains at the forefront of innovative health care practices.
Founded in a Worcester housing project in 1972, today Kennedy CHC has three medical facilities, three dental sites, two optometry practices and six school-based clinics serving residents of Worcester, Framingham, Clinton, Milford, and the surrounding communities of MetroWest and Central Massachusetts. Currently over 26,000 patients of all ages receive care and service through Kennedy CHC’s family practice model of care, a comprehensive approach to the delivery of quality primary and urgent care, medical specialties, nutrition counseling, dental care, optometry, pharmacy, behavioral health, social services, health education and youth development programs. Kennedy CHC is certified as a patient-centered medical home by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), a model that supports the flow of information among medical teams, coordinating health care visits, utilizing electronic technologies for tracking and errors prevention, and providing follow-up while, most importantly, engaging patients in their care.
In 2017, 18.6% of Kennedy CHC’s patients resided in public housing, or 4,871 patients. In 2017, according to the Health Resources and Services (HRSA) Administration Uniform Data System (UDS), 65% of Kennedy CHC’s reporting patient population were considered low income (using 200% or less of the federal poverty level) with 32.79% uninsured, 45.64% insured by MassHealth, 2.96% with other public insurance, 7.34% on Medicare and only 11.26% with private insurance.
Kennedy CHC serves a patient population that is ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse; 46.68% of Kennedy CHC’s patient population self-identify as Hispanic/Latino, and 75.66% of our patient population is best served in a language other than English, speaking a range of over 90 languages. Our patient base is also racially diverse, serving 3.78% Asian, .39% Pacific Islander, 12.19% Black/African American, .01% American Indian/Alaska Native, 50.5% White, and 30.55% self-identify with more than one race.
