WORCESTER, Mass. - The Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center is doubling it's footprint in the city of Worcester. Their new Lincoln Street facility will expand access to things like behavioral health and urgent care.

"Having grown up in Great Brook Valley, I know how important access to quality and equitable health care is to people who live and work in Worcester," said Aivi Nguyen, chair of the center's board of directors.

What You Need To Know

  • The Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center celebrated its new health care facility at 605 Lincoln Street

  • The new medical facility is expected to nearly double Kennedy Community Health’s footprint

  • It will also expand access to optometry, behavioral health, dental and urgent care in Worcester

The new facility will add three additional optometry rooms, six behavioral health rooms, as well as dental labs. Spectrum News 1 got a look inside the facility Monday, which is still months from full completion.

President and CEO Stephen Kerrigan said creating access to care, regardless of someone's financial status, is their mission, one of which was amplified during the last three years in the pandemic.

"There are many in our community who don't have health insurance, but luckily, because we live in Massachusetts, we have a health safety net," Kerrigan said. "But our job is to give folks that critical access to care because there's nothing more important than giving people access to a longer, healthier life."

Access means nothing if patients don't understand what's going on. Kerrigan said their client base speaks more than 85 languages and come from virtually every continent on earth. 

"That shows the amount of immigrants that come to the city of Worcester and live here and make it our home, and how important it is that we provide access to health care to everyone," said state Sen. Michael Moore (D-Worcester).

The new center hopes to not only improve access, but also their relationship with patients. State Sen. Robyn Kennedy (D-Worcester) agreed, saying, "Community health centers are truly a lifeline to our communities across the city."

"They want to know that their provider, health care provider, or the front desk person, or the people they're interacting with, understand them," Kerrigan said. "For people to be able to advocate for themselves as a patient, they need to be able to be understood. It's as basic as that."

Kerrigan said part of the building should be open in the next couple of weeks, but expects to be fully operational by July 4.