About the Organization
In 1975, a Great Barrington pediatrician named Dr. Thomas Whitfield was seeing children show up at his practice for their kindergarten physicals having not seen a doctor since birth or infancy. Children lacked immunizations. Many had medical problems and delays in language, social, and cognitive skills due to isolation. In response, he founded Childrens Health Program to bring health care to rural children, to offer support services to their families.
He and his staff traveled back roads in a station wagon, looking for houses with toys outside and diapers on the line, to find children who needed care and to connect with their parents. Shepherded by Dr. Whitfield and Childrens Health Programs first executive director, Linda Small, the agency went on to create a range of parenting support and childhood education services (the Family Support Network). CHP launched a WIC (Women, Infants and Children) nutrition program, and formed the First Steps program to bring early intervention therapy to children with developmental delays or disabilities.
In 2000, after 25 years of serving only children, Childrens Health Program made a giant leap and obtained federal designation for its health center, opening the doors to adults. Due to a shortage of health care services accessible to Berkshire county residents, the newly re-named Community Health Programs (CHP) caseload grew virtually overnight from 1,500 to over 4,000. Many of CHPs new adult patients had been childhood pediatric patients Childrens Health Program.
We are grateful for the generous, continuing support of individuals, corporations, foundations and other funding sources which enables us to continue to meet the needs of our community.
About the Community
-In 2007, CHP assumed ownership and responsibility for Barrington OB/GYN, a thriving practice in Great Barrington providing comprehensive womens health care services to women of all ages.
-In 2008, the Neighborhood Health Center in Pittsfield transitioned to CHP ownership from Berkshire Health Systems, becoming CHPs second health center.
-That same year, in response to the desperate need for accessible, affordable dental care in south Berkshire County, CHP opened the CHP Dental Center in Great Barrington.
-In an exciting development in 2009, CHP acquired nearly eight acres with three buildings on Stockbridge Road (Route 7) in Great Barrington, where CHP consolidated most South County programs into one health and wellness home.
-In 2012, Lee Family Practice joined CHPs health network.
-In December of 2015, Adams Internists and North Adams Family Medicine joined the CHP team, expanding CHPs network into Northern Berkshire.
-In October of 2016, Neighborhood Dental Center in Pittsfield joined CHP, as did the Berkshire Medical Center medical and dental residency program.
-In August of 2017, CHP gained its first pediatric medicine practice with the addition of Berkshire Pediatrics, a longstanding Pittsfield practice with some 12,000 patients.
Please find more detailed information about each of our sites by following the link provided:
https://www.chpberkshires.org/locations/
Please find more detailed information about any of the positions listed below by following the link provided: https://www.chpberkshires.org/careers