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Letter From Executive Director
Dear Friends,
This has been a special year for the South End Community Health Center. In June we
marked our 35th anniversary of service and in looking back, we are led today by the
same values and commitments that led to our establishment 35 years ago.
In my 34th year at SECHC I often like to describe myself as a newcomer. And it's
true-after 35 years we still have our first physician, Dr. Gerald Hass, who in the
late 1960s teamed up with a retired shoe business executive, Mel Scovell, to work
with a community-resident board committed to providing the very best health care for
their children. They established the South End Pediatric Clinic which opened in May,
1969. To this day, Mel continues to provide hands-on management advice to me and to
our staff.
Led by Antonio Molina, currently an Honorary Board Member, SECHC's first Governing
Board set into motion the mechanisms that would lead to the development of health
care in a community setting and quickly become a national model for quality preventive,
primary and managed care. That first Board is still represented today by Lois Cato,
one of the original SECHC community organizers.
In 2004, SECHC employed no less than twenty-two staff with more than 20 years of
continuous service. Nine have been with us for more than 30 years including Assistant
Director Migdalia Andrews, who received the Employee of the Year award from the
Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers.
While longevity, stability and continuity are important cornerstones, it is the excellent
care provided by our skilled professionals along with critical support from our
dedicated staff that are the hallmarks of SECHC's success. With a modern, state-of-the
art facility SECHC is more than ever a friendly, welcoming center committed to providing
all residents with the best health care available anywhere.
After 35 years, succession and transition are daunting challenges associated with
longevity of staff such as we enjoy. Fortunately, SECHC's leadership, both at the
Board and staff level, is prepared to respond to the need for change while guaranteeing
the highest level of care that our patients expect and deserve. An important example of
how SECHC is coping with this change is the formation of a new Patient Advisory
Committee comprised of both Board and staff. This committee will work on recruitment
and retention of committed Board members as well as provide oversight to ensure the
very best clinicians and leadership.
As a newcomer it has been easy for me to help lead SECHC by having the luxury of
following so many who have shown-and continue to show-the way. It is easy to lead
with the help of so many who commit themselves to excellence by constantly striving
to meet the health care needs of our community.
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Sincerely,
Tristram Blake
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
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