November 17, 2006
The MGH has made a $3 million commitment to expand substance abuse and mental health services in Charlestown in support of Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s initiative, Charlestown Connects, a coordinated program aimed at improving public safety and social services in the community. Joining the mayor for the announcement at the Bunker Hill public housing development were Jean Elrick, MD, senior vice president for MGH Administration; Joan Quinlan, director of the MGH Community Benefit Program; Peggy Carolan-Bolognese, administrative director for the MGH Charlestown HealthCare Center; Lorenzo Lewis, MD, medical director of the MGH Charlestown HealthCare Center; and Matt Fishman, vice president for Community Health at Partners HealthCare.
At
the event Menino (seen at left with Elrick) announced that the city
has made a $12 million pledge toward building a Charlestown police station
and $4 million pledge toward upgrading Charlestown High School’s playing
fields. Elrick announced that the MGH will provide $1 million for the expansion
of mental health and substance abuse services offered by the MGH Charlestown
clinicians at a satellite location in the Bunker Hill housing development,
and a $2 million capital grant to develop the Charlestown Recovery House,
a proposed 25-bed halfway house for men in recovery from alcohol or drug
abuse. Elrick also thanked the volunteers who have helped to serve the Charlestown
community through the Charlestown Substance Abuse Coalition, a program of
the MGH Community Benefit Program and the MGH Charlestown HealthCare Center.The MGH Charlestown HealthCare Center is the primary provider of care in Charlestown and has a longstanding dedication to serving the community. The center has been in operation since 1968 and offers comprehensive primary and specialty care services to children and adults. The health center offers adult medicine, pediatrics, mental health and social services, as well as smoking cessation and free breast and cervical cancer screenings for uninsured women.