Kennedy Community Health Center Vastly Expands Access to Care in Worcester to Better Serve Patients

Kennedy Community Health Center Vastly Expands Access to Care in Worcester to Better Serve Patients

Post-COVID Expansion Showcases Investment in Community Health

WORCESTER, MA— Worcester area residents will soon have vastly increased access to health care services under a significant expansion announced today by the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center (Kennedy Community Health).

Kennedy Community Health has purchased and will soon occupy the nearly 30,000 square foot building at 605 Lincoln Street currently occupied by the Veteran’s Administration  (VA). The VA announced in 2019 that it will be moving to a larger veteran’s care center at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. 

Stephen J. Kerrigan, Kennedy Community Health’s President and CEO, said this expansion is an effort to keep pace with the region’s growing demand for equitable health services and to increase the Health Center’s capacity to provide quality health care to the people who live and work in Central Massachusetts. The expansion is a continuation of Kennedy Community Health’s nearly 50-year commitment to serving the people of Greater Worcester, a commitment drawn into sharper focus through the COVID-19 pandemic.

“With the purchase of 605 Lincoln Street in Worcester, we will have two large sites less than a half a mile apart, providing increased capacity for our patients and access to vital health care services, especially for our most marginalized populations. I’m proud of the work we have done to secure this location as we continue to provide support and care to the people who live and work in the communities we serve,” said Kerrigan.

Plans for Worcester call for Kennedy Community Health to renovate the newly purchased 605 Lincoln Street site to support behavioral health, dental, optometry, urgent care, a small pharmacy and other ancillary services with an opening of some services as early as the spring of 2022.  Once this facility is operational, the Health Center will sell its building at 631 Lincoln Street.  Its flagship site at 19 Tacoma Street will receive renovations to expand primary care and other related services, including the pharmacy.