Kennedy CHC To Host Annual Walk & Fun Run at Tacoma Street Health Center

Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center is pleased to announce that their annual walk and fun run will be held again this year on Saturday, June 9^th at 8:30 AM at their 19 Tacoma Street Health Center in Worcester. In its third year, this year’s event has been expanded to include additional free family-friendly activities and a fun run component. The event will kick off at 8:30 AM and include a bounce house for the children, an appearance from the ever popular Paw Patrol character, Chase, free books, face painting, henna, and an arts and crafts section. The Regional Environmental Council will be attending with their Mobile Market for event attendees, giving Tacoma Street an early taste of their mobile farmers’ market season, which begins later that month with a weekly stop on Thursdays at 19 Tacoma Street. At 9 AM, runners will set off to begin the race component, while walkers will participate in a warm-up lead before setting off at 9:10 AM. Runners will be timed courtesy of local organization, Central Mass Striders, and will receive medals for the top 3 male and female finishers at the finishing ceremony.

The event has received generous support from sponsors in the community, and through the generous in-kind donations from local organizations. The 2018 A Mile In My Shoes: Walk & Run for a Healthier Community lead sponsors are United Healthcare Community Plan and Vibram. Additional sponsors for this year’s event are as follows: Akuity Technologies, Cornerstone Bank, Magellan Health, DAI Architects, Tufts Health Plan, CBS-Xerox, Reliant Medical Group, and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. In-kind support has been received from Sneakerama, Polar Beverages, and Wegmans.

Registration for the walk and run components is live and available online at: www.firstgiving.com/kennedychc/Walk2018. Fees are $5 for walkers, $10 for runners, and it is free for patients. Registration includes a free, limited-edition tee shirt and goodie bag from sponsors. Children’s activities are free and do not require registration.

All proceeds generated will be invested back into the programs and services offered by Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center to help build a healthier community.

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

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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.