History

History of Community Health Centers

Community health centers have a rich history, particularly in Massachusetts, where the first health center in the nation was launched in 1965. The following is a comprehensive account of community health centers up through the present.

In the Beginning: Launching a Movement

Physician-activists H. Jack Geiger and Count D. Gibson Jr. helped launch the American Community Health Center Movement 50 years ago with their founding of the first two community health centers in the nation: one in the Columbia Point section of Dorchester and the other in Mound Bayou, Mississippi. Despite five decades of political, social, and economic challenges, community health centers have remained committed to their mission of providing accessible, affordable, and high-quality health care for all, growing from a two-site demonstration project to what is now the largest unified primary care network in the United States.

Pioneering Efforts: Improving Health Care for the Underserved

Before the community health center movement, accessible health services for low and moderate-income people were difficult to find. Where services did exist, they were often characterized by long travel and waiting times, episodic and inefficient care, and, in the worst instances, disrespect. Based on his observation that “the poor get sicker and the sick get poorer,” Geiger, along with Gibson, helped to launch a revolution in health care delivery. Their belief — that poverty-causing conditions must be addressed before the health of a community can be sustained — formed the basis of the community health center model.