The Health Access Program provides help with health care access, education and community outreach and enrollment support for low-income residents.
The health access outreach worker assists residents with MassHealth, Commonwealth Care, Commonwealth Choice, and Medicare eligibility and enrollment; providing assistance with paperwork and application forms.
The outreach worker also helps residents find a primary care provider and access affordable health care services.
This project provides information and referral, case management, and outreach services to support individuals and families in identifying and accessing resources and achieving self-sufficiency.
Includes assistance in accessing fuel assistance, health care, housing referrals, adult education programs, job readiness programs and much more. It also supports the Gateway Family Center which provides playgroups for young children, family-oriented activities and parenting education and support.
• Staff: John Bergeron, Diane Meehan, Lee MacKinnon, Kim Savery
• Eligibility: Residents of Chester, Huntington, Russell and Middlefield
• Access by calling the Social Service Project Office at (413) 667-2203. Services are free to participants.
The HOPE program provides preventative and health maintenance care to seniors in their homes.
The HOPE nurse can do:
• Vital sign and blood pressure checks
• Home safety assessments
• Medication management
• Flu shots
• Assistance in completing health care proxy forms
• Arranging appointments with physicians and specialists
• Referrals for homemaker help, and much more
The podiatric nurse provides foot careand the team physician can make home visits as necessary.
Staff include:
• Margaret Martin, RN
• Mary Kane, RN
• Kip Moeller, Podiatric Nurse
• Beverly Dunn, Podiatric Nurse
• Eligibility: Residents, over 60, of Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, Plainfield, Worthington, Westhampton and Williamsburg. All services are free to eligible participants. Some services available to Russell and Huntington residents.
• Access: Call Michelle Taylor or Margaret Martin at (413) 238-5511 ext. 131 or speak with your primary care physician.
• Funding provided in part by: The Town of Chesterfield through a Community Development Block Grant administered by the Hilltown Community Development Corporation, the Town of Huntington Council on Aging and the Town of Russell Council on Aging.
Nuturing Your Baby - Free series for parents and their babies, "Nurturing Your Baby,"
• Eligibility: Parents of infants from all Hilltowns. All services are free to eligible participants.
• Access: Contact Lee MacKinnon at (413) 238-4155 or lmackinnon@hchcweb.org
• Mailing Address: 73 Russell Road, Huntington, MA 01050
• Funding provided by the Mass Children’s Trust Fund
Families Together Program
Free parenting workshops and individual consultation are offered on:
• Child development
• Communication
• Health and safety issues (such as family CPR and first aid)
• Eligibility: Residents of Chesterfield, Cummington, Plainfield, Goshen, Westhampton, Williamsburg and Worthington
• Access: Call Lee MacKinnon at (413) 238-4155 or email her at: lmackinnon@hchcweb.org
• Mailing Address: 58 Old North Road, Worthington, MA 01098
• Funded in part by The Town of Chesterfield through a Community Development Block Grant administered by the Hilltown Community Development Corporation
Hilltown Baby
We offer a variety of classes related to babies such as:
• Free childbirth education classes
• Breastfeeding education and support
• Parent-infant groups
When families’ due dates or locations do not fit scheduled classes, we offer private sessions or home visits in various hilltown locations.
• Eligibility: Pregnant or parenting families with babies under one year of age who live in the hilltowns.
• Access: Call Lee MacKinnon at (413) 238-4155 or email her
at: lmackinnon@hchcweb.org
• Mailing Address: 73 Russell Road, Huntington, MA 01050
• Funded in part by: the Hampshire County Family Network, a program of Hampshire Educational Collaborative with funding from the Mass Dept. of Early Education and Care
Reach Out and Read Program
This national pediatric literacy initiative provides a new book to every patient under 6 years of age at each well-child visit. Our doctors give each child a new developmentally appropriate book and speak with parents about the benefits of reading aloud to their children. Over the course of their development, children receive 10 new books for their home library.
• Eligibility: All Hilltown Community Health Center patients ages 6 months through 5 years
• Access: Automatic with yearly well-child appointment
• Funded by the National Reach Out and Read Center and ROR Massachusetts
Health Access Program
Community Programs
at the GATEWAY FAMILY CENTER:
413-667-2203
The Gateway Family Center provides playgroups for young children, family-oriented activities and parenting education and support.
Eligibility: Low- and moderate-income individuals and families in Blandford, Chester, Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, Huntington, Middlefield, Montgomery, Plainfield, Russell and Worthington.
• Access: Call John Bergeron at (413) 667-2203, Fax: (413) 667-2225.
• Funded in part by: Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation, MA Department of Public Health.
Gateway Family Center
Hilltown Social Service Project
HOPE (Health Outreach Program for Elders)
Family Education and Support Programs
Staff members: Kim Savery,
Diane Meehan & John Bergeron
Community Programs Staff
• John Bergeron, Health Access Outreach Worker, SHINE Counselor
• Lee MacKinnon, Director, Family Education & Support
• Diane Meehan, HealthWise Program Director, Hilltown Social Services Outreach Worker
• Kim Savery, Family Center Program Director and HealthWise Community Support Worker
