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 Great Barrington will be reopening (with indoor masks required) for parents seeking on-site, in-person connections with our staff and programs, for themselves and their children. We will visit outdoors when we can, and indoors as appropriate, for playgroups, drop-in visits and other events and activities.
With schools reopening in the fall, CHP’s Family Services team is enthusiastic about providing in-person support for children facing school transitions after many months of limited social contact. Family Services is also ready for younger toddlers (and their parents) who can benefit from our preschool and kindergarten readiness programs, such as ParentChild+.
Your financial donations have their strongest impact within our Family Services program, for which outside funding sources cover only partial costs of this essential work. We can’t do this work without you, and we thank you for continuing to include us in your generosity.
On the healthcare side of CHP, we have other good news: after many years of flat reimbursement rates MassHealth will increase its reimbursements for primary care, dental care, and behavioral health services. These substantial increases – about 50 percent over prior reimbursement rates, are long overdue and will vastly improve access to care, especially for lower income patients who often face barriers to equitable health services.
CEO Lia Spiliotes
CHP will strive toward these goals by investing in staff and technology. We will strive to shorten patient wait times for appointments. We will continually evaluate how to best serve our most vulnerable patients, and all our patients across the income spectrum. As our patients’ health improves, so does the health of our wider community.
These MassHealth changes arose through strong advocacy by the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, of which we are a part. Your support plays an important role in building a strong voice for CHP in this advocacy. I thank you. Wishing you a happy, healthy August and back-to-school transitions.
Sincerely,
Lia Spiliotes, CEO