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Representatives of Northwest Community Health Care were joined Sunday by officials to celebrate the opening of the Northwest’s new health facility in Foster. From left are state Rep. Nick Gorham; Sarah Nottage, Northwest board chairwoman; Peter Bancroft, Northwest president and CEO; Congressman Jim Langevin and Dr. Tom Wachtel BURRILLVILLE — Northwest Community Health Care executives and staff joined U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin and members of the Foster community Sunday to celebrate the opening of a new health care facility in Foster.
The official ribbon-cutting ceremony was followed by a Healthy Families Fair where families decorated pumpkins, watched a karate demonstration and learned introductory yoga. Health providers and local businesses were on hand to offer health and wellness information, free blood pressure screenings, dental health information and breast health awareness. The fair was sponsored by Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island and LifeSpan Laboratories.
The new Foster facility, the third location operated by Northwest Community Health Care, expands health care access to an underserved region of the state.
“This project represents the culmination of a tremendous amount of hard work, dedication and the collaboration of so many people in our community and I am proud to have been a part of that effort,” said Langevin. “For almost 100 years, Northwest has played an enormously important role in providing high quality primary care and dental services to the residents of our communities. I can't think of a more appropriate time to expand the reach of these critical services in our state.”
“I am incredibly proud that we have been able to respond to a community in need of comprehensive, quality health care,” said Peter Bancroft, president and CEO of Northwest Community Health Care. “Foster, Glocester, Scituate and the surrounding communities now have access to preventive primary care in a convenient location. Preventive primary care is a critical component to building healthy families and we encourage Foster residents to make an appointment now for a flu shot and general check-up as we head into the cold and flu season.”
Based in Pascoag, Northwest Community Health Care, the oldest non-profit community health center in the state, recognized that many Foster area patients were seeking care in Pascoag.
See NORTHWEST, Page A-2
As a result, Northwest researched the needs of the community by conducting comprehensive surveys of Foster area residents. The surveys concluded that many residents either do not seek preventive primary and dental care or need to travel significant distances to obtain these services. The surveys indicated more than 55 percent of Foster residents would seek services at the health center were one to be established nearby. Northwest then began the search for a location.
The new Foster facility, which officially opened to patients on Sept. 1, is located at 142A Danielson Pike on Route 6 and open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The facility provides primary care and other support services and has also solidified plans to open a dental facility in March 2009.
“The work in Foster has only just begun. Our plans are to continue to make significant improvements to this facility by reconfiguring the waiting area and inside treatment rooms and importantly, adding dental services. In the Spring, we will cut the ribbon on our new addition, allowing our local residents to seek a full range of dental services closer to home,” Bancroft said.
At Sunday's ceremony, Northwest honored the late Dr. Robert Spencer by dedicating the new waiting room in his name. Dr. Spencer was a beloved local family physician who served thousands of patients in this community for nearly 40 years. He closed his practice in May died seven years later. Bancroft, together with Dr. Spencer’s wife, Marjorie Spencer and their children, unveiled a plaque that will hang on the wall in his honor.
Northwest Community Health Care, established in 1909 and the oldest nonprofit community health care center in the state, provides services to the towns of Burrillville, Foster, Glocester, Scituate, Smithfield, and the neighboring communities in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Northwest delivers primary care and dental services to these area residents and has set its mission to deliver high quality health care to patients across the region. Recently, Northwest merged with Bayside Family Health in North Kingstown adding approximately 2,700 more patients in the town of North Kingstown and neighboring East Greenwich, Exeter and West Greenwich. Foster is the third Northwest facility operating in the state. |
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