Kennedy Community Health Center's expanded facility lets doctors 'provide more' for area

MILFORD — Jessica Mendes, a 13-year dental hygienist, says working at the dental practice at the new Kennedy Community Health Center is like giving back to the community.

"I love it," she said. "Coming back to Milford is like coming to back to what is needed so much."

Mendes is among many employees at the new 15,000-square-foot community health center, which opened in December at 41 Cape Road (Route 140), nearly directly across the street from its former location.

The Kennedy Community Health Center, which was founded in a Worcester housing project in 1972, opened its Milford office at 42 Cape Road in 2014 to increase access to primary care services and to lessen the pressure put on Milford Regional Medical Center’s emergency room.

'Small but mighty': Kennedy Health Center to build new, larger Milford facility

Juli True Dooley, senior vice president for advancement, said the team has responded well to the new site.

"There's a huge need in the community," she said. She said 90% of the center's patients are considered low-income, and speak any of variety of languages. Many staff members also speak a second language, with some fluent in more than three.

Nurse Manager Maria Goncalves, who speaks Portuguese and English, said the expansion has allowed staff to see more patients.

"It allows us to provide more for our patients and our patients are excited about all of this," she said. "We definitely need the space."

CEO Stephen Kennedy says affordable care is among Ted Kennedy's legacies

For President and CEO Stephen Kerrigan, the new space is a homecoming, having previously served as a trusted adviser and senior aide to the facility's namesake, the late U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, for two decades. Kerrigan said affordable care is one of Kennedy's legacies.

To break down the barriers of finding health care, Kennedy Community Health provides equitable options so that people can get the care they need, according to Kerrigan.

'More people have access': Health center expansion aims to meet needs of Worcester's underserved populations

"No one gets turned away and we've never hired a bill collector," he said. "For me, it's more important you get the care."

Community health centers rely on funding from Medicaid reimbursements and the congressionally authorized Communuty Health Center Fund, according to The Commonwealth Fund, a New York-based private foundation that aims to create an equitable, high-performing health system.

New building also means new services at Kennedy Health Center

The arrival of the expanded center also brings the arrival of new services to Milford, including optometry and dental care. The new site will soon have a nutritionist on-site every other week, and a pharmacy so that patients do not need to go to Framingham or Worcester to access cheaper drugs.

The optometry program is also a collaboration with the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, allowing staff and students to get on-the-job training.

Still based in Worcester, Kennedy Community Health Center employs more than 500 employees across its four locations — two in Worcester, and one each in Framingham and Milford. The center — originally founded as Great Brook Valley Health Center Inc. — serves about 34,000 patients who speak 81 languages from 90 communities.

The Milford office, the first community health center in town, was built with funding from both the MetroWest Health Foundation and The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Kennedy Health Center opens larger Milford facility, adds services