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Medical experts underscore regional needs in senior and low-income care

Medical experts underscore regional needs in senior and low-income care

Joanne Borduas, CEO of Community Health and Wellness Center, speaks at a town hall event Jan. 20.

Patrick L. Sullivan

NORTH CANAAN — Rising insurance costs and persistent economic hardship are reshaping local healthcare, Community Health and Wellness Center CEO Joanne Borduas said, describing the landscape as “shifting” at a town hall event Tuesday, Jan. 20, at the Colonial Theatre.

CHWC, a Federally Qualified Health Center based in Torrington, opened a facility in North Canaan in June 2024.

Borduas said since opening, the North Canaan center has served 2,417 unique patients for primary care, behavioral health, pediatrics, chiropractic care and nutrition services.

The towns served are North Canaan, Cornwall, Falls Village, Norfolk, Kent, Lakeville, Salisbury and Sharon. (Lakeville is part of Salisbury.)

Dental services will be added soon, she noted.

Borduas said that 36% of local households are classified as ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed), and said the health center is helping residents meet basic survival needs. With grants and help from Becton Dickinson and other businesses, the center has distributed Stop & Shop gift cards and provided emergency heating assistance for struggling families.

Borduas noted that about 20% of Northwest Corner residents are over age 65. In response, CHWC has expanded transportation to and from the health centers and added a Geriatric Consultation Clinic.

Borduas said the healthcare landscape is also challenging, citing an 18% average increase in health insurance premiums this year and an ongoing struggle to maintain federal grants.

Joining Borduas on stage were Kristy Clark, a nurse specializing in behavioral health, Becca Malone, a nurse who splits her time between school-based health centers at North Canaan Elementary School and Housatonic Valley Regional High School, and Dr. Deborah Buccino, a pediatrician.

During the question-and-answer portion of the event, Borduas noted that CHWC can help patients navigate Medicaid and Affordable Care Act paperwork. For people with no insurance at all, CHWC has a sliding scale for payment, or payment plans.

The bottom line for CHWC, Borduas said, is “a person’s zip code should not determine their health.”

Patrick L. Sullivan
Senior Reporter
Patrick Sullivan has been a reporter for The Lakeville Journal since 2004, covering everything from town meetings to local characters and the outdoors. He grew up in Northern Virginia but spent summers on Mount Riga in Salisbury, giving him a lifelong connection to the Northwest Corner. A graduate of Denison University, Patrick is also the author of Tangled Lines, the newspapers’ popular fly-fishing column—making The Lakeville Journal, as far as anyone knows, the only newspaper in Connecticut with a regular fly-fishing columnist. He once received a fan letter from England, which he considers sufficient evidence that his work has achieved international acclaim.
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