Meet the medical providers at CHWC in North Canaan

Community Health & Wellness Center’s team of medical providers and support staff gather outside the North Canaan facility on a windy afternoon Friday, April 4.
Riley Klein

Community Health & Wellness Center’s team of medical providers and support staff gather outside the North Canaan facility on a windy afternoon Friday, April 4.
NORTH CANAAN — Community Health & Wellness Center opened the doors of its North Canaan facility in May 2024 and has since served more than 1,000 patients.
Today, the center continues to blossom with a team of dedicated, specialized professionals.
CHWC offers a wide range of medical services to meet the needs of the community.
Residents of the Northwest Corner and beyond have access to primary care for adults and adolescents, pediatric care for newborns and children, behavioral therapy, social services, substance abuse counseling and chiropractic care.
In addition to an administrative and support team, there are eight medical providers on site.

Services provided: General internal medicine, infectious disease consults, HIV primary care.
Dr. Sarah Humphreys is originally from New York City and has spent time in the Northwest Corner throughout her life. Humphreys became chief medical officer at CHWC in March 2025.
“I’ve been coming to the Salisbury area since I was a baby and learned to swim in Lakeville Lake. I’m excited to help grow and strengthen community health access in the Northwest Corner.”
Humphreys earned her BA from Brown University before completing a Master of Public Health at Yale University. She then obtained her medical degree from Ben Gurion University in Israel, followed by residency in Internal Medicine at New York University and a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Mount Sinai in New York City.
Humphreys said at CHWC “it’s not just about what medical services we’re providing, but really trying to help people in their lives.”

Services Provided: Youth autism evaluation (under age 6) and treatment/evaluation for individuals with developmental behavioral challenges (under age 21).
Dr. Deborah Buccino joined CHWC’s North Canaan facility in September 2024, bringing more than 25 years of professional experience. She previously worked as a physician for public and private schools ranging from preschool through college. She has been an Instructor of Pediatrics at Boston University Medical School and UMass Chan Medical School.
In addition to autism spectrum disorder evaluations, Buccino works with individuals under the age of 21 experiencing developmental behavioral challenges like ADHD, anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation, sleep and feeding difficulties.
Having spent time in Connecticut has a child, she is “excited to be reconnecting with my Connecticut roots. I am passionate about collaborative care that bridges silos between youth, families, healthcare providers and school staff to deliver optimal support.”

Services provided: Pediatric primary care from newborn through young adulthood. School based primary care at HVRHS and NCES.
Rebecca Malone, of Sharon, began her career in pediatric primary care in January 2009 practicing family medicine and offering substance abuse treatment. Malone’s experience includes health promotion, disease prevention, adolescent health and diagnosing and treating asthma, allergies, anxiety, depression, ADHD, diabetes and thyroid disease.
Malone’s role as a school-based primary care provider allows her to “take care of students in their natural habitat.” There is no bill for students utilizing this in-school medical care program at Housatonic Valley Regional High School and North Canaan Elementary School. Parents must sign a consent form in order for their child to receive treatment.
Outside of work, Malone enjoys “being outdoors with my family, paddleboarding, hiking and raising food on our farm. In addition, I coach cheerleading with amazing athletes ages 5 to 14.”

Services provided: Primary care for adults and adolescents, Dept. of Transportation physicals for CDLs.
With more than 20 years of experience as a nurse practitioner, Cay Hosterman brings knowledge from a variety of settings working in adult and adolescent health.
Hosterman is licensed to provide Department of Transportation physicals, which is necessary for those seeking commercial driver’s licenses.
“So the highway department and [Becton, Dickinson & Company] can come here. If you need to have a CDL license, you need to have a physical,” she said. “We do those here.”
Hosterman is originally from Kent and enjoys hiking, skiing and spending time in the community with friends and family.
Hosterman earned her degrees from University of New Hampshire and Fairfield University.

Services provided: Primary care provider for all ages.
Joining CHWC earlier this year, Elizabeth Russ brings experience from a previous private practice and more than five years as an emergency department nurse at Sharon Hospital.
“I am a Litchfield County native who grew up showing dairy cattle as a member of the Busy Farmer’s 4-H Club here in North Canaan. On my days off, I help on my family’s farm in Cornwall.”
Russ earned her degrees from Quinnipiac University, Hartwick College and St. Lawrence University before returning to the Northwest Corner to practice medicine.

Services provided: Psychiatric evaluation and medication management.
A Master of Science in Nursing, Kristy Clark has 35 years’ experience as a psychiatric nurse in various inpatient, emergency and school nursing settings. She joined CHWC in 2023.
“I wanted to work in a center that provides care to everyone who needs it. I love to be able to help people in a small-town setting and in reaching one person.Also reaching a family and making ripples of positive mental health.”
Clark lives in Goshen with her husband and two Cavalier spaniels.

Services provided: Outpatient clinical services for adults.
Elise Sideli offers the skills of an experienced social worker in community mental health, early college and recovery residence health centers. She provides therapy to individuals through CHWC.
In addition to CHWC’s North Canaan facility, Sideli also works with East Rock Collective in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
She is native to the area, having grown up in New York State, and now resides in South Egremont, Massachusetts.
“I love cycling, hiking and making jewelry, and I enjoy working at my local CSA in the summer.”

Services provided: Diagnosis and management of musculoskeletal conditions.
Kimberly Layman was magna cum laude at Keene College, earning her BS in biology in 2012 and her Doctor of Chiropractic degree in 2017.
Layman is a spine specialist, certified in Active Release Technique and FAKTR.
Prior to joining CHWC, she ran Layman Sport and Family Chiropractic in Litchfield County.
Layman also brings experience from clinical rotations through Stonybrook Hospital on Long Island, New York, Optimus Health in Bridgeport and with minor league baseball team The Bridgeport Bluefish.
Lakeville Journal
Singer-songwriter Leslie Mendelson performs at The Grace Note at The Stissing Center in Pine Plains on Friday, April 10 at 7:30 p.m. A Grammy Award-nominated artist, she blends folk, pop and Americana with a warm, expressive style.Tickets at thestissingcenter.org
Riley Klein
Nora Lennon (left) and Makenzie Lidstone (right)
KENT – Housatonic Valley Regional High School’s softball team traveled to Kent School for a scrimmage Wednesday, April 1.
The non-league game gave players an opportunity to dust off their cleats, though they quickly became muddy when it started to rain in the third inning.

Team captain Madeline Mechare was the lone senior in HVRHS’s lineup, which included three juniors, three sophomores and two freshmen. Coach Kayleigh Selino shuffled defensive positions between innings as she evaluated her young roster.
Sophomore Payton Wagner started the game pitching for HVRHS and freshman Kendall Koerner was the starting pitcher for Kent. Junior Kensi Watson also spent time on the mound for HVRHS.

It was Kent’s second scrimmage against a Berkshire League team after playing Lakeview High School the previous day. Kent looked ready for another spring in the Founder’s League with the regular season scheduled to begin Saturday, April 4, at Hopkins School in New Haven.
HVRHS’s regular season is scheduled to begin Wednesday, April 8, at Nonnewaug High School in Woodbury.
Riley Klein
A rainy first track meet.
Lakeview High School hosted a preseason track meet Thursday, April 2, in Litchfield. It was a chilly start to the season with intermittent rain and temperatures hovering around 38 degrees. Lakeview invited Housatonic Valley Regional High School, Wolcott Technical High School, Gilbert School, Nonnewaug High School, Northwestern Regional High School, Kaynor Technical High School and Thomaston High School to participate in the scrimmage. Berkshire League competition begins April 21 at HVRHS.


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Alec Linden
Joel Blumert, left, and Bob Hennessy, right, captivate the audience with folk renditions of songs across genres.
FALLS VILLAGE – Nearly 30 creatives from the Northwest Corner and beyond gathered under the high ceilings of Falls Village’s Center on Main on Saturday night to bask in the breadth of performance artists the region has to offer.
Held on the first Saturday of each month, the 12 Moons Coffeehouse — an event organized by husband-and-wife duo John and Nancy Nowak — has brought local artists together with near-uninterrupted regularity since 2012.
The April 4 program followed the standard 12 Moons format, kicking off with an open mic session before a featured act took the stage.This month’s headliners were Salisbury-based guitarist and vocalist Joel Blumert, accompanied by harmonica player Bob Hennessey of Cromwell.
The evening began with a slate of open mic performers, who shared their work with a respectful yet lively audience. Some attendees sipped coffee or tea and enjoyed donation-based treats provided by 12 Moons, while others brought their own snacks and wine, adding to the bohemian coffeehouse atmosphere.
John Nowak led the open session with his rendition of “The Ones I Love” by contemporary folk artist Robby Hecht. With performers limited to 10 minutes each, the program moved quickly.
Among the varied offerings were piano and vocal performances by Amy Olitsky, blues guitar from John Sprague, and original instrumental guitar pieces by Danny Peelish. Sandro LaRosa shared songs from Italy, while Betsy Glassman and Frank Derwitsch performed with their folk-rock band, The Greys. Mary Ellen Braun offered traditional tunes a cappella, David Capellaro recited his original poetry, and another performer combined vocals with African drumming.
Renowned fingerstyle guitarist and 12 Moons fixture – as well as next month’s featured performer – Stephen Bennett closed out the open session with two tracks demonstrating his agile style: a lilting, decades-old original called “Most Beautiful Sky” and a bouncy instrumental version of The Beatles’ classic “I Saw Her Standing There.”
Even without words, his lively interpretation of the song had audience members humming and singing gently along within seconds of opening the first verse.
After a short break, Blumert and Hennessy launched into an hour of folk interpretations of source material ranging from traditional folk tunes to 1960’s jazz standards and even the 1981 hit “Tempted” by British band Squeeze.
“It’s weird playing at night,” Blumert said as he tuned up one of his two custom-finish jade green instruments from Irish manufacturer Emerald Guitars. “I mostly play at nursing homes, and I’m usually playing at about 2 o’clock in the afternoon,” he continued, getting a warm laugh from the crowd.
Between covers of classics like Johnny Mathis’ “When Sunny Gets Blue” and Paul Craft’s bluegrass staple “Raised by the Railroad Line,” Blumert played one of his own songs, a seasonally-appropriate number called “Bloodroots in Blossom” that he said was inspired by the sight of a great blue heron from the Dover Plains train station twenty years ago.
“Ideas for songs come from really weird places,” he said.
He closed the night out with an energetic call-and-response performance of Preston “Red” Foster’s 1956 blues tune “Got My Mojo Working,” made famous by Muddy Waters’ recording the next year.
While breaking down after the show, Nowak reflected on the long-running, donation-only event. “It promotes community, live music and poetry,” he said. “And we’re going to keep doing it.”
12 Moons will return to the Center on Main the first Saturday in May for Stephen Bennett’s feature performance and, as always, plenty of additional talent to enjoy.
Lakeville Journal
In appreciation of Larry Power
Larry worked endlessly to build the Sharon Land Trust and saved so many beautiful acres that we all enjoy seeing everyday-The Twin Oaks being the centerpiece. He even found replacements for the original trees when these died.
The SLT would not be the wonderful organization that it is without his far reaching leadership getting it accredited and widely supported.
Anne Hepner
Sharon
Inhumanity has become endemic
The latest aggressions in both Iran and Lebanon demonstrate a lack of humanity.The opening salvo in the Iran war was the incineration of 175 girls at an elementary school in Teheran.This was followed by massive destruction of infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, police stations, bridges, and energy, electric and water facilities serving the general population.All of these are war crimes and result in the death and suffering of civilians.Think about how to preserve milk for babies without refrigeration.Or how to care for sick ones with a bombed hospital.
If that isn’t bad enough, we have to endure watching the self-styled Secretary of War spend day after day thumping his chest in bellicose ways about the annihilation of Iran, with no mercy, as if that’s a new military paradigm to be proud about.And of course, Trump has been doing the same, using hyperbole in everything he utters to scare Iran into risking total obliteration, a word he loves to use.Is total obliteration and destruction of a country what the good guys are supposed to do these days?
Israel is equally inhumane.They ordered one million Lebanese, 17% of the country’s population, to leave their homes within hours, and they were told that they may not return for “security” purposes.Now the Israelis are systematically blowing up their homes and villages so they have nothing to go back to even if they could return.These are not Hezbollah fighters’ lairs, but the homes and villages of ordinary Lebanese, including many Christians.
Seventeen percent of the US would be as if 59 million Americans were immediately told to leave their homes - forever.Those displaced people are like you and me, with elderly parents, children and grandchildren who now have nowhere to go but into the streets of other parts of their country.I have a friend who is lamenting that not only will he never be able to visit his family home and village again, but he will never be able to visit his parents’ graves, if they even continue to exist.
The latest demonstration of disregard for human life was the recent law passed by the Israeli Knesset calling for the hanging of any Palestinian convicted of terrorism.Note that almost 100% of Palestinians accused of this are found guilty, which indicates an absence of adequate due process by the military courts used in such cases.The Israelis are known to torture Palestinians to elicit a “confession” from them.Some Palestinians end up actually preferring death to continued torture, since there is no hope for them to receive relief from the pain and agony.
The inhumanity is bad enough.But the silence and apathy from most of the world is equally shocking.This is where we have arrived as a society.My fellow citizens, what do you have to say about it, and what are you going to do about it?
Lloyd Baroody
Lakeville

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