Continuity Sites
Overview
Codman Square Health Center and South Boston Community
Health Center are the sites for the continuity practice of the family practice residents. From the first day of training, residents are assigned a panel of patients distributed by age, gender, and diagnosis so that over three years residents are exposed to a broad patient base. This experience is at the core of the residency program. Both community health centers are located minutes away from the medical center and offer diverse patient populations, teaching opportunities and learning experiences for residents.First year residents will care for their panel of patients at least two half days per week; second year residents care for their panel of patients 2-4 sessions per week; and third year residents 3-5 times per week.
Residents are responsible for patients in whatever setting they present, whether office, home, nursing home or tertiary care center. This orientation also extends to addressing unmet health care needs in our community, including coordination with schools, churches, and industry, and conducting innovative outreach to vulnerable populations. A strong emphasis is placed on the active management of patients within integrated service systems, especially as they apply to the needs of the underserved.
South
Boston Community Health Center
South Boston Community Health Center
409 West Broadway
South Boston, MA 02127
The South Boston Community Health Center (SBCHC) first opened its doors at 133 Dorchester Street, at the corner of West Fourth Street in 1982, in a George Robert White Building. The building was originally erected in 1972 and sits across from Marian Manor, the original site of the old Carney Hospital. The idea for the Health Center had two origins. One sprang from the evolution of the site, which was part of the Boston Dispensary system operated by the City of Boston. The other was a response to changing times when full service community health centers were filling a void in Boston's neighborhoods following the departure of the traditional community based doctor's office. From South Boston's history of community leadership grew the impetus to form a health center uniquely capable of serving our own local residents.The South Boston Community Health Center is a private non-profit corporation, owned and operated by a Board of Directors made up in large part by community residents. The Health Center's Board, once comprised of elected representatives from districts in South Boston, is now one where every member serves the community as a whole. This inclusive and innovative design made the agency strong and resilient, contributing to its survival and success amid a particularly turbulent period of change in public and philanthropic funding of health services.
The SBCHC has grown into a model of neighborhood health service delivery. With a staff over 250 (over half of whom live in our neighborhood), the SBCHC provides over 70,000 visits each year to almost 42% of the South Boston population. Care is provided in a dignified and professional manner, regardless of a patient's ability to pay.
Codman
Square Health Center
Codman Square Health Center
637 Washington Street
Dorchester, MA 02124
The Codman Square Health Center (CSHC) is a community-based ambulatory care and multiservice center founded in 1975 by neighborhood activists. The health center's creation was the by-product of an organizing effort by the Codman Square community to identify and meet its own needs, among which health care was one of the highest priorities. Rather than simply providing medical care, CSHC is also committed to organizing the community so that residents determine the neighborhood's destiny.
The mission of CSHC is to serve as a resource for improving the physical, social and mental health of the Codman Square community. The health center also maintains a contractual relationship with Boston Medical Center that allows it function as an outpatient department. It also complies with all the regulations stipulated by JCAHO. Full descriptions of CSHC's clinical services are in "Programs and Services."
Although the CSHC began as a relatively small organization with 2500 annual patient visits, it has now grown to a multi-million dollar operation with over 80,000 annual patient visits and a budget of $69 million. The health center is governed by a Board of Directors comprised mainly of consumers and residents. This fourteen member board has full authority and responsibility for the operation of the Codman Square Health Center, including approving the organizational budget and setting organizational policy.
The staff of the health center has grown dramatically over the last six years to its present level of one hundred fifty seven. One hundred nine of these positions are full-time, forty-eight are part time. The staff represent a diverse group: 61% Black, 28% White, 6% Latino. This is roughly the same racial/ethnic distribution in the neighborhood. The Codman Square Health Center is committeed not only to advocating for the community, but also representing its various constiuencies.
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