Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers to Celebrate 60th Anniversary of Community Health Centers at Kennedy Institute

Event will feature panels and awards ceremony

BOSTON – December 4, 2025 – On December 11, 1965, the first community health center in the country opened in the basement of a public housing project in Dorchester’s Columbia Point neighborhood to provide health care to people experiencing some of the worst health outcomes in the city. From these humble beginnings, a powerful movement arose, rooted in the belief that health care is a civil right, and that in addition to providing high-quality, comprehensive care, you had to address the social factors that made people sick.  

Sixty years later, with more than 1,500 locations nationwide that serve nearly 34 million people, community health centers have solidified themselves as an essential part of our country’s health care system.  

The Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers (Mass League) and Harbor Health Services, Inc., are celebrating this milestone anniversary on December 11 , 2025, with a reception at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United State Senate that will feature panels on the history of the health center movement. Boston-based attorney and community health advocate Joseph D. Feaster, former community health center executive Daniel Driscoll, and longtime Mass League executive Ellen Hafer will all be recognized with the Champion for Health Justice Award during the event.  

“We are honored to have borne witness to the history and impact of the health center movement and its roots here in Massachusetts, and to get to celebrate this milestone Edward M. Kennedy Institute makes it all the more special,” said Michael Curry, Esq., President and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers.  

Senator Kennedy was an early ally of the health center movement. After visiting the Columbia Point Health Center in 1966, he successfully secured the first federal funds to support the work and mission of these institutions. It’s thanks to this kind of leadership and support over the past sixty years that Massachusetts now has a network of 50 community health centers that operate in 98% of MA zip codes while caring for 1 million patients annually and employing 18,000 full time employees.  

Columbia Point Health Center is still standing and providing high-quality care and services to the residents of Dorchester. Now known as the Geiger-Gibson Health Center, in honor of Dr. Jack Geiger and Dr. Count Gibson, pioneers in the field of community health, it is part of the Harbor Health System.  

WHAT: A Reception to Honor the 60th Anniversary of Community Health Centers 

WHO: Michael Curry, Esq., President and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers; Shade Cronan, SVP of Development and External Affairs for the Mass League; Dr. Cheryl Clark, Executive Director & SVP of the Institute for Health Equity Research, Evaluation, and Policy; Tania Barber, CEO of Caring Health Center; Lou Brady, CEO of Family Health Center of Worcester; Daniel Driscoll, former CEO of Harbor Health; Joseph D. Feaster; and photojournalists Bill Brett, Don West, and Lou Jones.  

WHEN: Thursday, December 11, 2025, from 5-8pm 

WHERE: The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the US Senate, 210 Morrissey Blvd. Boston, MA 02125   

Media are kindly asked to RSVP in advance. Please email Jon Latino, at jlatino@massleague.org.

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