Accessible and Affordable Healthcare for the Long Run
Meeting the health and wellness needs of northwest Connecticut, one community at a time
Photo by Anne Day.
“The rural areas of the State, such as the Northwest Corner, are in dire need of access to primary care providers…we turn no one away, regardless of their ability to pay, [which is] the benefit of having an FQHC in the neighborhood: we can service everyone and hopefully cover the needs [of the community]. If there’s something we can’t do on site, we pride ourselves on working with community partners in order to close the gaps in care for patients.”
CEO Joanne Boudras, Community Health & Wellness of Greater Torrington
About Community Health & Wellness Center of Greater Torrington
For two decades, Community Health & Wellness Center of Greater Torrington (CHWC) has been committed to keeping communities healthy. Their award-winning Federally Qualified Health Centers — defined as any community-based and patient-centered organization that delivers comprehensive and culturally competent primary health care services in areas where economic, geographic, or cultural barriers would otherwise limit access to affordable health care services — provide services in Torrington, Winsted and at six satellite locations.
Since 2002, CHWC has used innovation, creativity, and technological advances to deliver patient-centered care and, by extension, meet the diversified needs of the community by integrating access to affordable pharmacy, mental health, substance use disorder, and oral health services— regardless of an individual’s ability to pay.
Our Work with Community Health & Wellness Center of Greater Torrington
At FCH, we are invested in making sure health care services are provided to residents of rural areas — which is why we have chosen to partner with the Community Health and Wellness Center of Greater Torrington for the long haul. Fueled by the knowledge that where folks live is a chief determinant of health, in 2015 we made a planning grant of $50K to facilitate CHWC’s next steps in the community. In 2019, FCH awarded CHWC a $1.3M grant — one unique to the Foundation and the assets we steward — to establish a health center in North Canaan.In addition, FCH provided significant ‘support beyond the grant’, supporting CHWC through the process of obtaining bonding funding (which they secured in 2022) and aiding efforts with community stakeholders. Once complete, the North Canaan Center will include comprehensive and continuous primary care, behavioral health, walk-in non-emergency medical services for minor illness and injuries, and chiropractic care.