"Do Their Own Thing": Radical Health Care and the Fair Haven Community Health Center

This article examines the history of Fair Haven Community Health Care (FHCHC) in New Haven, Connecticut, an organization that spanned both models and typified innovative aspects of each while resisting the forces that tempered many of its contemporaries' progressive practices. Motivated by a tradition of independence and struggling to address medical neglect in their neighborhood, FHCHC leaders chose not to affiliate with the local academic hospital, a decision that led many disaffected community members to embrace the clinic. The FHCHC also prioritized grant funding over fee-for-service revenue, thus retaining freedom to implement creative programs. Furthermore, the center functioned in an egalitarian manner, enthusiastically employing nurse practitioners and whole-staff meetings, and was largely able to avoid the conflicts that strained other community-controlled organizations. The FHCHC proved unusual among free clinics and health centers and demonstrated strategies similar institutions might employ to overcome common challenges. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print September 16, 2021: e1-e9. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306417).PMID:34529492 | DOI:10.2105/AJPH.2021.306417
Source: American Journal of Public Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Source Type: research