6 Creative Ways to Donate
Thinking Beyond the Checkbook Donate Stock Donating shares of appreciated stock to CHP will save income tax while also eliminating capital gains tax on the stocks that you transfer. You can ultimately donate more value in a stock transfer than if you were to sell the...
Connecting Primary Care and Behavioral Health
A New Grant Addresses a Key Need At CHP, we work to help our patients address not just their primary health care needs, but to holistically provide inclusive services that address the entire person and the root causes that impact their ability to live full and happy...
Changing the Future of Rural Health
Together, We’re Closing the Gap in Essential Services for Women in Berkshire County Responding to the unique health care needs of our rural community is at the heart of CHP’s mission – and your support helps make it possible. In 2023 we launched a vital two-year...
Care. Commitment. Community.
Join Me in Celebrating 50 Years of CHP Dear Friends, This year marks a remarkable milestone in our journey – the 50th anniversary of Community Health Programs. As we celebrate five decades of service, growth, and community impact, I want to extend my deepest...
Fighting Hunger with Farm Fresh Food
Summer is a time when our region’s farmers are producing some of the best food available anywhere, and we believe that everyone – regardless of income – deserves access to that food.
Early Childhood Intervention Leads to Academic Achievement
“When Leonardo started the program, he was non-verbal and using sign language to communicate his needs,” recounts ParentChild+ mentor Lindsay Tillou. “Working with him and his parents, he made steady progress…
CHP Medical Assistant Training Program Builds Our Workforce
“When I saw this opportunity to earn an income, learn a new skill set, and put me on a career track in the medical field, I knew this was the right program for me. It gives me a chance to get my foot in the door as a Medical Assistant…
On the Road to Better Health
The value of mobile health inour community Between July 2023 and July 2024, CHP’s Mobile Health team criss-crossed the county, holding 503 clinics at town halls, fire stations, libraries, senior housing, shelters, public events, and parks. Accessibility: Not everyone...
Building CHP’s Workforce; Investing in Tomorrow
In the rural healthcare landscape around the U.S., community health centers like ours face unique challenges in recruiting qualified professionals for patient care positions. We compete with urban and suburban regions where healthcare education and jobs tend to...
Reducing Insurance Challenges in Our Community
CHP’s promise to provide quality care to those who need it involves not only providing them with health services but also guaranteeing that insurance coverage or payment aren’t barriers to accessing care.
CHP Dental Improves Access to Pediatric Patients
CHP’s Mobile Dental Clinic CHP stands out as a dental care provider for children. For pediatric patients with MassHealth insurance, it has become increasingly difficult to find a dentist.CHP dental practices are one of only two dental groups in the...
Summer is Good for Your Health: Enjoy–With a Few Summer Health Precautions
Sunshine and the outdoors are great for your health, but if you’re gardening, hitting the beach, hiking through nature trails, or simply relaxing in your backyard, the summer carries some risks that call for proactive summer health precautions.
CHP is Here to Serve and Partner with Our Community
For nearly 50 years, CHP has grown and deepened its reach throughout the Berkshires by paying attention to gaps in healthcare services. We listen to our patients, healthcare peers and community partners, and we ask: How can we help fill the cracks?
A Winning Combination: Adams Family Dental & Family Services Now Open
With Adams Family Dental now open, North County residents have access to a state-of-the-art dental practice that was designed with the patient’s experience in mind. “We know it is common to experience anxiety and stress at the dentist’s office, so we created a space...
CHP is Addressing Weight Bias in Health Care
A Q&A with CHP Size-Inclusive Care Coordinator Annie Schwartz Annie Schwartz, MS RDN LDN, is a clinical nutritionist and Size-Inclusive Care coordinator. Along with the CHP Size-Inclusive Care Committee, she is passionate about making health care inclusive and...
CHP Family Services: Preparing for the Kindergarten Transition
School readiness programs visit Hancock Shaker Village and more For the first time since Covid, CHP’s school readiness programs returned to see the baby animals at Hancock Shaker Village. Experiences like these are part of the ParentChild+ and Play & Learn...
Mobile Health: Meeting the Need for Same-Day Urgent Care
CHP Mobile Health is now offering same-day care whenever our mobile teams are on the road. Mobile same-day care helps bridge the gap between traditional medical care and costly emergency room visits. Easy access is even more important in a rural region like ours,...
Is Group Health Right for You?
With Group Health Visits, “community” is a vital ingredient for wellness. For people living with certain chronic conditions, the support of fellow patients can be key to building healthy lifestyle habits.
Your Generosity at Work
In March, CHP published its first Impact Report—a review of the many ways your contributions made a difference in our community. If you did not receive the 2023 Impact Report in the mail, you can download it from our website.
Together is Better! Group Medical Visits Enhance Patient Support
CHP primary care clinicians Lisa Nelson, MD, and Laura Gariepy, FNP CHP is growing its Group Medical programs! Led weekly by our primary care clinicians and community partners, Group Medical Visits gather together CHP patients (and others) with common health...
Creating Opportunities for Early Childhood Development
Jeanne Bassis has built a career helping children and adults experience play, an essential ingredient for a healthy life. Each week, Jeanne brings lightly structured and free play to two CHP playgroups.
Greeting and Meeting People Like You
As summer turns to fall and the air grows crisp, I’m grateful each day to be settling into my new home here in the Berkshires. My early weeks at CHP have been spent meeting our team, community leaders, and members and learning about all that makes CHP special.
Reaching More People; Providing Great Care
With a newly improved Lee Family Practice site and dental practice locations set to open in 2024, CHP is making strides to fill gaps in our region’s health care.
A Prescription for Good Health
CHP Partners with local farms to distribute nutritious food. If nutrition is the doorway to better health, access to healthy food is the first step inside. Our Family Services and Nutrition teams are at the forefront of food security and healthy nutrition. Through...
Birthing with Barrington OB/GYN: One Mom’s Story
As a longtime patient of CHP Lee Family Practice, Sarah K. of Otis was confident in choosing Barrington OB/GYN (BOG) for her obstetric care when she became pregnant with her first baby. In particular, she sought out Dr. Jill Samale. With Dr. Samale and the BOG team,...
Accelerating Mobile Health at CHP Berkshires
This year, we are doubling down on mobile health, a staple of CHP care since the 1970s. Back then, a local doctor and some nurses drove around our rural back roads looking for signs of young children who might need medical care—the origins of CHP. Today, our...
One Door Project: New Help for Victims of Domestic and Sexual Violence
For a victim of sexual or domestic violence, confiding in a medical professional might feel safer than calling a domestic abuse hotline. CHP Berkshires and the Elizabeth Freeman Center have partnered to create the One Door Project to care for victims who need both...
Annual Appeal 2022: How Your Gifts Grew
Reasons to Give to CHP Berkshires CHP Berkshires relies on you—our friends and neighbors—to support many programs not reimbursed by insurance or other revenue, particularly our Family Services programs. Family Services supports parents, children, and families through...Making a Difference: Care Coordinator Kornelia Krzyzanowska
At CHP, sometimes, our work isn’t done when the exam is over. Some patients need extra support to achieve better health and wellness. As Care Coordinator at CHP Great Barrington Health Center, Kornelia Krzyzanowska, RN, BSN, is focused on making sure children in...
Donor Spotlight: Matt and Missy Scarafoni
When Matt and Missy Scarafoni consider their community giving, they ask, “What organizations make a wide impact on our Berkshire community? Who is leveling the playing field between those who have more and those who have less?” CHP is on their “A list.” “A lot of...
Mission Moment: Families Like Ours
By: Rania Markham When my kids were 18 months and three months old, our family signed up for CHP ParentChild+, a home mentoring program for families with young children soon heading to preschool or kindergarten. Each week, a family mentor came to our home to...
A Message from Interim CEO, Rick Gregg: Bringing a Unique Perspective to CHP
When I was asked in June to become the interim CEO of Community Health Programs, I believed I might bring a unique perspective to overseeing the CHP healthcare networks and family services. As a patient of Lee Family Practice for more than 25 years, I’ve benefitted...CEO Message Spring 2022
Greetings Friends, Resilience is the capacity to recover from difficulty, the ability to stand up after being knocked down. The past two-plus years have raised hard tests of our resilience. We witnessed and participated in a pandemic crisis that has taken nearly a...
Mission Moment: Dental Health for a New Family in Town
In mid-2020, a Boston area family relocated to the Southern Berkshires, where they found a rare affordable apartment. At the time, schools were closed to in-person learning, and the family—with five children—had no local connections or support network. Then, through...
Donor Spotlight: Jack Polizzi of T.P. Saddleblanket
Years ago, the T.P. Saddleblanket shop in Great Barrington hired a young woman, an immigrant from Hong Kong, as a tailor and pattern maker. She was excellent at her job, but English was not her first language. When she needed dental care, she was unsure how to...CEO Message: On Track at Family Services
Friends, This summer, we have some important reasons to celebrate, and to thank you for your ongoing financial support for CHP. CHP is on track for in-person services for some of our most important clientele: children and families. Our Family Services facility in...ParentChild+ Program: Strengthening Local Families
When Jackie Schultz and Jared Brunner and their kids moved to the area several years ago, they had no connections. They lived in an isolated town, cut off from neighbors and other parents. The couple worked opposite job shifts to care for the children, including an...