Gala celebrates community health center amid looming Medicaid crisis

SALISBURY — Safety-net health centers across the country face a fiscal crisis “unlike anything we’ve seen in decades,” Joanne Borduas, chief executive officer of Community Health and Wellness Center, told supporters at a gala at Stillwaters Farm on Friday, Sept. 18.

The crisis is being driven by what policy experts call the “Medicaid cliff,” Borduas said.

Federal Medicaid changes scheduled to take effect in January 2027 could cause many families to lose coverage and strain the finances of organizations such as CHWC, a nonprofit health care provider serving underserved communities in the Northwest Corner.

Nationwide, approximately 50% of patients at similar health centers are covered by Medicaid. At CHWC, Medicaid patients account for about 38%, while 45% have commercial insurance and approximately 17% are covered by Medicare.

“Every day, our doors open to neighbors who walk in carrying the weight of illness, anxiety and the fear of what tomorrow might bring. They come to us because they know that at CHWC, they will be treated with dignity and compassion regardless of what is in their wallet,” she said.

CHWC began in 2002 as a two-room clinic at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in Torrington and attained federally qualified health center status in 2009. It has grown to operate three health centers — one in Torrington, Winsted and North Canaan — along with 10 school-based health centers and mobile services.

It provides primary and behavioral health care, dental care, nutritional services, chiropractic care and other specialty services. The organization serves more than 7,000 patients and records approximately 38,000 visits per year.

Borduas also thanked state Rep. Maria Horn for her support. “We are so grateful for your partnership.”

“When a family loses coverage, they do not stop getting sick,” Borduas said. “A mother’s diabetes doesn’t pause. A child’s asthma attack doesn’t wait. Instead, those patients are pushed into the shadows of the uninsured or underinsured.”

John Coston is a trustee of the Community Health and Wellness Center.