A message from CHC celebrating 49 years of service.

1. MANY OF YOU ARE HEARING ABOUT CHC FOR THE FIRST
TIME — GIVE US A MINUTE TO SHARE A LITTLE MORE
The day was May 1,1972, when a group of Wesleyan students and Middletown community
activists raised the banner proclaiming “Health Care is a right, not a privilege” and
opened a small free clinic for those in need. It wasn’t a one room school house, but it was
pretty close. Their voluntary efforts and generations of dedicated staff who followed laid the
foundation to today’s Community Health Center, Inc. With more than 200 locations, CHC is
the largest provider of primary care to diverse populations in need throughout Connecticut.
The Health Center’s nationally recognized Weitzman Institute (weitzmaninstitute.org)
educates health professionals in all 50 states and is engaged in research on issues of critical
importance to safety net health care providers around the country.
But the COVID-19 pandemic set us on a path requiring us to draw on 49 years of resilience
and dedication. Our state called upon us to lead the efforts in both COVID testing and
vaccinations, and we answered that call, providing free tests to hundreds of thousands of
residents and standing up Connecticut’s largest mass vaccination sites. Our first site, at Pratt
& Whitney Runway, would be the state’s beachhead for vaccine distribution. Along with
mass vaccination clinics in Stamford, Danbury and Middletown, and with hundreds of
pop-up community events in churches, immigrant centers, schools, and wherever we are
called to serve, CHC has provided about 400,000 vaccine doses and counting.
We are very proud of our work – but we have a saying: “we didn’t get here on our own and
we can’t move forward alone.” This lifesaving work is about so many others who made us
shine – the National Guard – we salute these great heroes, the State of Connecticut, local
Health Departments, community non-profits, Chambers of Commerce, places of worship,
police and fire departments – and those of you who simply gave us a shout out. That’s the
success we are most proud of – in a year shaped by tragedy and the unknown it
came down to everyone working together. That’s how a more perfect union is
formed, when everyone can own a piece of the work. Thank you all.
Peace and Health
Mark Masselli
Founder/President/CEO
Amy Taylor
Western Region Vice President
Learn more about our work at www.chc1.com/history
Margaret Flinter
Clinical Director, Sr. Vice President
Yvette Highsmith-Francis
Eastern Region Vice President