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This mural appears inside MEHC.
Primary and preventive care services for children and adults. Outreach programs that respond to community needs. Case management and home visiting services. Substance abuse treatment and recovery programs. These services-and much more-are what Martha Eliot Health Center (MEHC), located in Jamaica Plain, is all about.
The mission of MEHC is to promote health and provide comprehensive and high-quality care to diverse multicultural communities, primarily residents of Jamaica Plain, Mission Hill, Roxbury, Roslindale and Dorchester.
Ninety-eight percent of MEHC's patients are Latino and African American; more than half are under the age of 34; and three-quarters receive Medicaid or other government-sponsored insurance. "When patients walk through our doors, they become partners in health with more than 120 staff members-many of whom live in the community-who understand their challenges and who strive to deliver the best care in a culturally competent and sensitive way," says Adita Vasquez, chair of the MEHC Advisory Board.
That care includes a wide range of primary and preventive services, including pediatrics, women's health, adolescent and adult medicine, mental health, optometry, nutrition, human services and an onsite laboratory. MEHC also helps patients manage chronic diseases such as asthma, HIV, diabetes and obesity.
At MEHC, however, the definition of "care" is broad. It encompasses not only health-related services, but also programs that promote literacy, improve school performance, help families learn how to prepare nutritious foods and support victims of trauma and violence.
"Because of the many challenges faced by our patients, Martha Eliot strives to be more than a clinic devoted to family-centered care," says Vasquez. "We are part caregiver, part social worker, part therapist and part advocate. To many of our patients and families, we also are friends. We are as proud of these aspects of our mission as we are of the excellent health care we provide."
For more information on MEHC, visit childrenshospital.org/mehc. |
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