From left, Ronica Doyen, Gema Juarez and Rebecca Malone prepared for a patient’s appointment at the North Canaan health center’s nursing station on a recent weekday afternoon.
NORTH CANAAN — Since opening last summer, the new federally qualified health center serving the Northwest Corner has treated more than 1,000 patients seeking help for medical and mental health issues.
“It’s been going great,” Joanne Borduas, CEO of Community Health & Wellness Center’s (CHWC) regional North Canaan facility, reported during a mid-December interview.
“We have seen 800 patients for medical and mental health services, and 426 kids through our school-based clinics. We are seeing what we anticipated, and probably then some.”
Strong demand prompted the hiring of several additional providers at the new health center, which is expected to be at full staffing level in early 2025 and will help broaden the facility’s capacity for scheduling.
A full-time family nurse practitioner is expected to start in mid-January, and CHWC has tapped Sarah Humphreys to take on the role of Chief Medical Officer, whose area of expertise includes infectious diseases.
Humphreys is expected to join the North Canaan health center in early March.
“We’re very excited to have her and to bring that specialty to the area. She grew up in the Salisbury area and left to practice medicine in New York, and is now coming home,” said Borduas.
The newest hires will bring staffing to 15 at the North Canaan health center, which was two decades in the making and was unveiled with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting attended by elected officials and key funders on May 10. The next day, CHWC hosted an open house to introduce the two-story, 7,300-square-foot regional center to the public. By the end of June, practitioners were seeing patients.
A ’great need’ for mental health services
It didn’t take long before the need became apparent, said the facility’s CEO.
“In the surrounding towns we have had a great lack of primary care physicians over time, which had led to individuals living with a high number of medical conditions, and there is clearly a great need for mental health services,” Borduas explained. “The acuity of illness in that area is tremendous.”
The Northwest Corner is home to an aging population, and Canaan, in particular, has a significant low-income population, said Borduas. Those factors, she noted, “contributed to what people could do for themselves.”
Responding to the need, she noted, “We did bring on an additional physician which was not part of the original plan.”
Dr. Deborah Buccino, a board-certified pediatrician, was hired to enhance addressing pediatric needs for the community at the North Canaan facility. Borduas noted that Buccino specializes in evaluating and treating children with autism, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), anxiety, depression and other learning and behavior concerns.
The FHC is on track with its mission to offer integrated medical and behavioral health services aimed at addressing the region’s dearth of health care providers, limited access to care and transportation challenges impacting both financially stable families and those less fortunate.
“We are not just the doctor’s office,” said Borduas. “Our mission is to be part of the community.” As a recent example, CHWC recently hosted a sold-out Christmas show at the historic Colonial Theatre.
Aided by community partners
Since its inception decades ago, the new health center has been aided by a coalition of community partners to address what Borduas describes as a “healthcare desert” in rural Northwest Connecticut.
Residents living in healthcare deserts may face inadequate access to primary, emergency, mental health, dental care and experience food insecurity.
Just recently, she said, the Northwest Corner’s largest employer, BD, awarded a $20,000 grant to the North Canaan health center.
“We are using the funds to address social determinants of health. We are going to use that grant money to purchase gift cards at Stop&Shop so we can give them to individuals experiencing food insecurity.”
Through the use of the BD grant, another local employer, Lindell Fuels, Inc., will assist CHWC with providing fuel to families who need help keeping their homes warm this winter.
“We will supplement the cost for Lindell through the use of the grant dollars,” said Borduas. “It really has been a tremendous, generous gift.”
For now, the health center’s goal is to take care of the community’s immediate needs, and in the early spring, CHWC plans to conduct an updated Community Needs Assessment.
It has become clear that there are still healthcare gaps in the rural Northwest Corner.
“We are trying to educate the community that we are not an emergency walk-in clinic and that we operate by appointment only,” said Borduas, who noted that even though people with urgent medical issues have not been turned away, that will not be possible to continue as the health center gets busier.
The closest urgent care center is in Torrington, she said, or for residents in the Sharon area, locations over the border in New York. The closest Emergency Rooms are at Sharon Hospital or Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in Torrington.
“That speaks to the need that continues to exist there.”
Joanne Borduas, CEO of Community Health & Wellness Center (CHWC), has been appointed by Gov. Ned Lamont to the 38-member Health Care Cabinet (HCC) as a representative of community health centers across Connecticut.
Borduas will serve a four-year term ending in November 2028.
The HCC was created to advise the Governor and Lieutenant Governor alongside the Office of Health Reform & Innovation on health-related issues such as federal health reform implementation and development of an integrated healthcare system in Connecticut.
The nonprofit CHWC, which operates health centers in North Canaan, Winsted and Torrington, serves more than 7,000 patients and is the only Federally Qualified Healthcare Center (FQHC) in the Northwest Corner providing comprehensive services.
In making the announcement on Nov. 21, Lamont credited Borduas for her extensive experience working within the healthcare community in Connecticut.
“Her appointment to this group will provide valuable insight in our efforts to strengthen and improve our state’s healthcare system. I appreciate her willingness to serve as part of this cabinet.”
Borduas said she is honored by the appointment, and intends to be the voice for patients, staff and community health centers across the state in addressing the challenges faced in the health care industry.
“I’m looking forward to tackling challenges like the rural health care crisis, pharmaceutical pricing and Medicaid reimbursements.”
The cabinet, which meets bi-monthly, convenes working groups to make recommendations regarding the development and implementation of service delivery and healthcare provider repayment reforms including multi-payer initiatives, medical homes, electronic health records, pharmaceutical pricing and evidence-based healthcare quality improvement.
Cabinet members include government officials, leaders in medical practice, insurance, labor representatives, small business leaders, mental health and addiction services and public health.
Through this group, the committee will put forth recommendations to address key healthcare challenges through legislation, funding initiatives or restructuring of current efforts according to the 2024 HCC report.
The report also details various subcommittees devoted to issues like the rural health care crisis, mental health and the affordability and accessibility of urban health care.
Emergency responders block Amenia Union Road in Sharon Saturday, Oct. 11, while responding to the vehicle crash.
Updated Oct. 13, 9:25 a.m.:
SHARON — Shea Cassidy-Teti, 17, of Salisbury, died Saturday, Oct. 11, in a tragic car crash on Amenia Union Road in Sharon.
Connecticut State Police reported Charles Teti, 62, was driving his Jeep Grand Cherokee northbound on Amenia Union Road when, for an unknown reason, the vehicle crossed the southbound lane and exited the roadway where it struck a tree and home. Airbags deployed.
Teti and front seat passenger Aidan Cassidy, 63, sustained serious injuries. Teti was airlifted to Hartford Hospital and Cassidy was transported by ambulance to Sharon Hospital for treatment.
Shea Cassidy-Teti was in the back seat and sustained fatal injuries. He was pronounced dead on scene.
Cassidy-Teti was a senior at Kent School. He played on the football and tennis teams.
The residence that was struck is located at 35 Amenia Union Road.
The case remains under open investigation. Witnesses are asked to contact Trooper Lukas Gryniuk at Troop B 860-626-1821.
LAKEVILLE — Rhys V. Bowen, 65, of Foxboro, Massachusetts, died unexpectedly in his sleep on Sept. 15, 2025. Rhys was born in Sharon, Connecticut, on April 9, 1960 to Anne H. Bowen and the late John G. Bowen. His brother, David, died in 1979.
Rhys grew up at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, where his father taught English. Attending Hotchkiss, Rhys excelled in academics and played soccer, basketball, and baseball. During these years, he also learned the challenges and joys of running, and continued to run at least 50 miles a week, until the day he died.
In 1982 after graduating summa cum laude from Harvard College, Rhys returned to Hotchkiss to teach biology, where he met his wife of 35 years, Rebecca (Becky) Snow. After two years of teaching, he worked at a research field site in Borneo, then went on to the University of California, Davis where he earned a PhD in Animal Behavior in 1995.
Rather than follow an academic tenure track, Rhys preferred the solitary focus of field ornithology, and he spent several decades researching the ecology of bird species in California and on Cape Cod and the Islands. Rhys believed passionately in supporting biodiversity through habitat preservation. His proudest achievements, therefore, came through his work for the Lakes Region Conservation Trust, in New Hampshire, where he served on committees and the Board of Trustees for twenty years, including three years as Chair.
Deeply intellectual and curious, Rhys learned Homeric Greek so he could read The Odyssey and The Iliad in their original language. An amateur Melville scholar, he would wax poetic about reading Moby-Dick for the umpteenth time.Rhys’s spirit was filled by the performing arts. Concerts by the Handel and Haydn Society and Boston Early Music Festival often brought tears to his eyes, while Boston Bluegrass Union shows delivered toe-tapping fidgetiness.
Rhys will be missed by his wife, Becky Snow, his mother, Anne Bowen, extended family, friends, and anyone who had the pleasure of knowing him.
A service will be held at The Hotchkiss School chapel on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025 at 1 p.m..
In honor of Rhys’s memory, donations can be made to the Lakes Region Conservation Trust.
LAKEVILLE — Kelsey K. Horton, 43, a lifelong area resident, died peacefully on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, Connecticut, following a courageous battle with cancer. Kelsey worked as a certified nursing assistant and administrative assistant at Noble Horizons in Salisbury, from 1999 until 2024, where she was a very respected and loved member of their nursing and administrative staff.
Born Oct. 4, 1981, in Sharon, she was the daughter of W. Craig Kellogg of Southern Pines, North Carolina, and JoAnne (Lukens) Tuncy and her husband Donald of Millerton, New York. Kelsey graduated with the class of 1999 from Webutuck High School in Amenia and from BOCES in 1999 with a certificate from the CNA program as well. She was a longtime member of the Lakeville United Methodist Church in Lakeville. On Oct. 11, 2003, in Poughkeepsie, New York, she married James Horton. Jimmy survives at home in Lakeville. Kelsey loved camping every summer at Waubeeka Family Campground in Copake, and she volunteered as a cheer coach for A.R.C. Cheerleading for many years. Kelsey also enjoyed hiking and gardening in her spare time and spending time with her loving family and many dear friends.
In addition to her husband and parents, Kelsey is survived by her two beloved children, Hunter Horton and Aryanna Horton, both of Lakeville; a step-brother, Jason Tuncy of East Hartford, Connecticut; her mother-in-law, Frances “Fran” Horton and her brother-in-law, Benjamin D. Horton III and his wife Penny of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, and their son, Alec, and several aunts, uncles, cousins and many dear friends. She was predeceased by her father-in-law, Benjamin D. Horton, Jr. in 2017.
There are no calling hours. A Celebration of Life will take place on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, from 11 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Millerton American Legion Post # 178, Route 44, Millerton, NY 12546. A time to celebrate Kelsey and share stories and memories. Memorial contributions may be made to The Jane Lloyd Fund. Please make checks payable to Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation (please note in memo line, The Jane Lloyd Fund) and mail to: Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, 800 N. Main Street, Sheffield, MA 01257.
To send an online condolence to the family, flowers to the service or to plant a tree in Kelsey’s memory, please visit www.conklinfuneralhome.com
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Scott D. Conklin Funeral Home, 37 Park Avenue, Millerton, NY 12546.
SHARON — On Sept. 27, Eliot Warren Brown was shot and killed at age 47 at his home in New Orleans, Louisiana, in a random act of violence by a young man in need of mental health services. Eliot was born and raised in Sharon, Connecticut, and attended Indian Mountain School and Concord Academy in Massachusetts. He graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He and his wife Brooke moved to New Orleans to answer the call for help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and fell in love with the city.
In addition to his wife Brooke, Eliot leaves behind his parents Malcolm and Louise Brown, his sisters Lucia (Thaddeus) and Carla (Ruairi), three nephews, and extended family and friends spread far and wide.
Normally at this point one might list some interests, but in Eliot’s case, it’s easier to list what he wasn’t interested in: watching sports.
Eliot made a living as a fine craftsman and carpenter, but at heart he was an artist. He was well versed in music, painting, literature, biking, travel, Mardi Gras costumes, poker, pranks, street performance and on and on and on.Having previously hiked the entire Camino de Santiago in Spain and Portugal, he recently achieved another dream of summiting the highest stratovolcano in North America.
Eliot’s creative ability was astounding. His creations were designed to bring joy to others. He didn’t seek recognition or praise, and a large part of his work was anonymous. Pieces of art would appear in the community, encouraging people to think, connect and enjoy.
From the precociously funny and determinedly defiant boy that grew up in the Northwest corner of Connecticut, Eliot grew into a brilliant, gentle souled, boundlessly creative, ever mischievous, perpetually scraggly, and astoundingly wise and caring man who made an indelible impact on those who were lucky to have him in their lives.
In honor of Eliot, please consider making donations to organizations that work to end gun violence, support the arts, or provide mental health services. A service will be held at the Congregational Church in Salisbury on Sunday Oct. 26 at 2 p.m.
