Local leaders hear testimony of ‘rural healthcare crisis’

LITCHFIELD — Joanne Borduas, President and CEO of Community Health and Wellness Center, had an urgent message for Northwest Connecticut leadership at the May 8 meeting of the Northwest Hills Council of Governments:

“We need to sound the alarm on rural health.”

The Community Health and Wellness Center is a Federally Qualified Health Center, commonly known as a FQHC, which is a federal qualification given to certain healthcare organizations in regard to the quality of services, community-oriented approach, and accessibility for all patients regardless of their ability to pay.

Community Health and Wellness Center, which has locations in Torrington, Winsted, and recently North Canaan, is one of 17 FQHCs in the state and the only one in the region.

While presenting to the assembled officials, Borduas said that her organization, like many others, is facing critical financial threats due to widespread federal cuts under the Trump administration.

Community Health and Wellness Center receives approximately 30% of its payroll through federal grants and has already had to cut back on some of its central programming, including suspending its dental services.

Borduas described Community Health and Wellness Center as an indispensable resource for Northwest Connecticut, a region that she described as experiencing a “rural healthcare crisis.”

“Access issues and unique challenges in rural areas lead to poorer patient outcomes compared to our urban counterparts,” Borduas explained. She said those challenges are especially acute given heightened risk factors in many rural communities, such as increased socio-economic disparities, economic downturn, elderly populations who wish to remain at home as they age, and funding and resource scarcity for healthcare facilities.

Around 500,000 people benefit from community health centers across the state, she said, of which some 300,000 are covered by Medicaid, a program which is threatened with major cuts. Medicaid is “not just low income,” Borduas said, but helps vulnerable populations like young adults recently off their parents insurance, single mothers and the elderly.

Borduas encouraged COG members to make their voices heard both in their communities and in Hartford: “We need to eliminate barriers to healthcare access.”