Our Purpose

At CHA, we believe everyone deserves the opportunity to be healthy. Our providers and staff are committed to improving access to care, while pursuing health equity and social justice.

We support policies that protect and improve the health of all, with a special focus on underserved people in our communities and across our nation. This is core to our mission. 

Our Delivery System Innovation

Finding new ways to bring care to the people.

• Maintaining access to care during COVID-19, with telehealth visits, COVID testing in the community, and a community management model to provide expert care while keeping people out of the hospital. 

• Expanding Primary Care teams. Today, every CHA primary care patient has a multi-functional team to help them manage their health. Teams are led by primary care doctors and include nurses, behavioral health clinicians, pharmacists and other providers. Twelve CHA care centers are Level 3 Patient-Centered Medical Homes (NCQA) and have received PRIME Certification from the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission.

• Improving access to behavioral health services. CHA is placing increasing emphasis on whole person health, including bringing behavioral health services to people in more accessible ways:
  • Every CHA Care Center has integrated behavioral health clinicians on its care teams and provides suboxone treatment. This lets us meet behavioral health and addiction needs in a safe, familiar location. It also reduces potential stigma of associated with behavioral health. 
  • CHA has a Health Integration Program (Mental Health Home) for patients with intensive or chronic mental illness. This service is a home base for patients, meeting their outpatient behavioral health needs while providing primary care.
  • CHA is helping address the opioid crisis by placing Recovery Coaches in its Emergency Departments. This engages people at the initial point of contact to help them access recovery services.

• Supporting patients who need it most. CHA is committed to helping patients with multiple health conditions who need more support. This may include regular phone calls and help navigating the health system. CHA is also identifying social determinants of health, and connecting patients to resources that can improve their health and their lives.

• Building a Population Health infrastructure to adapt to new health care financial models that use global payments.