The Hilltowns of Western Massachusetts are comprised of roughly three dozen rural and sparsely populated towns, situated amongst New England’s pastoral wooded hills and vales. Life in these scattered towns and villages is largely simple by both design and necessity.
Unfortunately, the same sparseness of population so highly valued by its residents can also create very real challenges when it comes to services vital to supporting wellness and active healthcare.
For seventy-five years, The Hilltown Community Health Center has worked hard to ensure that the citizens of our region have access to the same medical services available to our neighbors in higher density areas of the state. Offering access to talented physicians and necessary services that might otherwise be absent, the HCHC has pursued their mission through agile use of resources across four locations, and has consistently adapted to serve the ongoing needs of those living in rural Western Massachusetts.
Florence and her husband Harry Bates.
Married in 1936
The origins of this vital organization can be traced back to 1930, when a stalwart nurse by the name of Florence Berry was hired by the Red Cross to serve the Hilltowns. As the tenth nurse hired in roughly nine years, it quickly became clear that there was just too much demand for a single Red Cross Nurse to handle. Told that there was no further assistance available from this far-flung national organization, she left their service in 1932, and dedicated herself as the first official Town Nurse of Worthington, Massachusetts.
After many years of visiting patients on horseback, or by buggy, the town gifted Florence with a new Ford.
Laboring under the ethos that a community that pulls together should be able to provide quality health care for its own citizens, Nurse Florence and her clients set out to create an organization that might help to facilitate that care.
With the backing and engagement of the town, the Worthington Health Association was formed and the Worthington Medical Center opened its doors in 1950. For twenty-five years, Nurse Florence continued to work tirelessly in support of this vital resource, often volunteering her own services as the organization continued to evolve.
By 1975, Nurse Florence had retired, and the need for healthcare in the Hilltowns was still on the rise. The Health Center found itself in a desperate spot. So it was that the musician Arlo Guthrie was able to parlay his national recognition into a successful fundraising concert to benefit the WHA.
Performing at Sena Farm in Worthington, over 6,000 people showed up to sit on the lawn and hear him belt out some of his famous tunes. Videos of the event can still be found, and show a historic moment in the story of the HCHC. During his set, Arlo spoke in support of Community Health Centers across America. After the show, he remarked that it was a shame that this was what you needed to do to get healthcare. All totaled, the benefit raised roughly $18,000 – enough to help the health center out in the short term, if not enough to provide ongoing sustainability.
The next year would see the Worthington Health Center become a Federally Qualified Health Center, a move which would open the door to expanding services to Huntington in 1988.
Ten years later, the HCHC would go on to open their third clinic in the Gateway School-Based Health Center, still serving roughly 80% of the students today. And in 2018 they opened the John P. Musante Health Center in Amherst, operating out of the Bangs Community Center. At every step of this process the Hilltown Community Health Center has expanded to meet the needs of the community.
Ruchir Agarwal, DDS
Jessica Bossie, MD
Now in their 75th year of service, the HCHC is happy to serve over 8,000 patients through their clinics, offering services from such skilled practitioners as Dental Director Dr. Ruchir Agarwal. Thanks to his background in endodontics, patients are now able to receive root canals right there at the clinic, rather than having to make the long drive to Longmeadow and back. Perpetuating the dedication of its founding ethos are such Primary Care Physicians as Dr. Jessica Bossie, a provider who isn’t above using the flashlight and cell service provided by her phone to complete essential documentation for her patients during a power outage in Amherst.
To this day, any of the services offered by the HCHC can be accessed at all of their Health Centers. In what would otherwise be a severely underserved area, they provide Primary Medical Care, Dental Care, Eye Care, Insurance Navigation, and Behavioral Health Services.
Their talented staff offer services ranging from Physical Therapy to Community Programs and Nutrition Counselling. Their Health Navigators are ready to ensure you have easy access to the programs and insurance you may need to get started. Their Health Outreach Program helps folks who are over 60 in the hills by visiting their homes for health maintenance. And through all this robust list of offerings and services, they maintain one of their most important founding principles: “No one will be denied services due to inability to pay.” They want folks to know not to worry when asking about their sliding scale for payments.
Pictured: Dr. Michael Purdy, OD, MPH, Chief Executive Officer (left).
Debra DiStefano, PhD, Chief People and Compliance Officer (right).
With a list of services this complete, it’s never too early to see how the HIlltown Community Health Center can be of service. In fact, that’s one of the best ways to support the organization. According to Dr. Michael Purdy (CEO) and Debbie DiStefano (CPCO), they’d love to see more patients walk through their doors. Taking advantage of their Hilltown locations for your non-emergency needs helps to support this key local resource. In addition to being the second largest employer in our area, the HCHC is a well-oiled grant-writing machine.
But improvements still require capital resources, and the funding that is allocated from Congress only goes to pay salaries. Becoming a patient, filling out needs assessment and patient satisfaction surveys, these are all valuable tools to an organization that has worked hard to care for the Hilltowns of Western Massachusetts for seventy-five years.
On Saturday, October 4th from 11am-1pm at the Worthington Historical Society, the Hilltown Community Health Center will be hosting a celebration of gratitude for the clients, patients, neighbors and supporters who have helped to make those seventy-five years of service a reality.
Refreshments will be served, and honors will be presented to some of the key players, like Arlo Guthrie, who came to bat for the organization in their time of need – And you’re invited!
Monday – Friday
Worthington: 8am – 4:30pm
(413) 238-5511
Huntington: 8am – 5pm
(413) 667-3009
Amherst: 8am – 4:30pm
(413) 835-4980