Community development pays big dividends for access and public health based on need

A Boston-based community health center in an underserved neighborhood that serves primarily African Americans, including a large number of Caribbean immigrants changed access and services with its community development project. This new construction project involved coordinating a development team, major fundraising, acquisition of eight parcels of land in the heart of a commercial district and bringing together two tenant partners – a local national bank and a major pharmacy, the first in the commercial district for over 30 years. In addition to increase capacity to serve more patients with more services, this community development project has significantly decreased crime and transformed the urban site to an environmentally clean one. The health center participated in major visioning, planning, and policy development with staff and the community to assure a patient centered medical home for its residents with onsite mammography services and a nutrition education center under one roof. The mammography services address the high rate of breast cancer mortality in the Mattapan neighborhood. In the most recent Health of Boston 2012, the mortality rate has been 174% higher than the overall Boston rate. The nutrition education center has been busy with little chefs and their families to address the high obesity rate (70% for adults, Health of Boston) and the high diabetes mortality rate which was three times higher than Boston.