Breaking Down Barriers to care
How school-based and community care removes barriers for working parents
NIKKI BLASS is a single working mom of four with little free time. When healthcare needs arise, being on the same schedule as her kids is a challenge—one school-based health has all but eradicated. “Driving to the pediatrician in Great Barrington doesn’t always fit into our schedule,” says the North Canaan resident whose daughter attends North Canaan Elementary. When a sore throat struck last spring, Rebecca Malone, APRN, FNP-BC was able to jump in and troubleshoot with minimal disruption to the family’s hectic end-of-year activities. “Within an hour of getting the initial call, I had a message on my phone in addition to a detailed update on the [CHWC patient] portal,” says Blass, a Region One educator, who remembers thinking: How is this even possible?”
“It’s an amazing asset,” says Blass, who first met Malone in 2023 when the family nurse practitioner spoke at her son’s graduation from Housatonic Valley Regional High School. Now home from college, the adolescent sees Malone for primary care at CHWC’s North Canaan location which opened in May 2024.
“The folks there are incredibly responsive,” says Blass, who considers the FQHC a welcome addition to the community. Familiar faces—like Pediatrician and Child Behavioral Development Specialist Dr. Deborah Buccino—are bringing invaluable pediatric specialty services to the Northwest Corner (including youth autism evaluation and treatment/evaluation for individuals with developmental behavioral challenges), gleaned over 25 years of experience in the field.
From the brick-and-mortar health center to school-based primary care, Blass is beyond certain: “We all benefit from having these resources in our community.”
Illustration by Michelle Newman.
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