Health Fair, 1978.
CHA's
Mission Statement
The mission of the Community Health Association is to promote individual and community health, to prevent disease, and to provide the highest quality home health services which maximize health, independence, and quality of life.
School Nurse Screening by Mrs. Hazel
B. Dickson, RN, Richmond School,1973.
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“Neighbors Helping
Neighbors . . .”
Of course there are still many around who remember events of the “roaring 20s.” But it's unlikely there are few, if any, in the towns of Richmond and West Stockbridge who, in 1928, played a role in creating an organization which for the past 75 years has significantly enhanced the quality of life in those communities.
That's why what follows is a brief history of what became the Community Health Association of Richmond and West Stockbridge, now celebrating 75 years of addressing the health needs of the two towns.
Maternal Child Home Visit by Mrs. Mary Kirk, in the 1940s. |
The late Mrs. Darwin Morse, the first president of the organization, wrote in 1958 on its 30th anniversary that such an organization in the early spring of 1928 “was merely a dream; by mid-summer it was rapidly becoming a reality; and by fall of the same year we actually had a lively organization.”
That spring meeting by a group of interested volunteers was to discuss how a resident district nurse could be obtained. Until that time Richmond had to depend on Pittsfield for medical aid and nursing service. Next the volunteers met in May at the town hall under the auspices of the Red Cross and the Parent Teachers Association, with advice from a representative of the Great Barrington Visiting Nurse Association. On June 21st of 1928 the Richmond Community Health Association was organized and by August 11th sufficient funds were obtained to pay a resident nurse. In October, Miss Mary Fairweather, later to become Mrs. William Kirk, was hired as school nurse, a position she would hold for 30 years. Subsequently the association has been administered by outstanding professionals, including the current administrator, Suzanne Hatch, a registered nurse and resident of West Stockbridge.
Katharine Annin, writing in the Berkshire Eagle in 1979, noted that the Community Health Association has come a long way in the last 50 years. It started as the Richmond Community Health Association which joined forces with West Stockbridge in 1932. Nurse Fairweather had no office other than her own rented bedroom in a private home, but she made calls day or night in her 1929 Chevy which often got stuck on Richmond's muddy dirt roads.
“To Do Something for the Wellfare of Mankind”
- Mrs. Stephen Harkness
Early funding for the organization came through association with the Southern Berkshire Health Unit of the Commonwealth Fund, established and endowed by Mrs. Stephen Harkness of New York City “to do something for the welfare of mankind.” When the health unit was discontinued in 1940, the budget of Community Health Association was met by appropriations from both towns, by nursing fees, and by annual subscriptions and gifts. This basically is the same way budgets are met today, with the association making an appeal for funds each June.
Dr. Thomas H. Hayden and Volunteer Worker, Mrs. Theresa
Forget - Immunization Clinic, Richmond, October 15, 1964. |
Throughout this 75-year history, the organization has expanded and added programs. Early on physical examinations of infants, pre-school and school children proved successful. Many parents availed themselves of the opportunity to confer with doctors, dentists and nutritionists. In the mid-1940s vision and hearing tests began for pupils in both towns.
For adults, bedside care continues to be the chief service offered. Medicare/ Medicaid certified home health services include skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, medical social work and supportive services to patients at home. This includes home health aides, personal care attendants and homemakers.
As programs of the Community Health Association (CHA) have continued to expand over the years, flu clinics are held each autumn and senior wellness clinics are scheduled for blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes screening. The association also uses its own funds to continue providing health promotion visits to frail elders who might not qualify for nursing care and supervision under Medicare's stringent regulations.
Well Child Clinic in the 1940s. |
Although primarily a Richmond and West Stockbridge organization, the Community Health Association today also serves home healthcare clients in the towns of Alford, Housatonic, Lenox, and Stockbridge.
Looking back on these past years of addressing the health needs of these communities, we are reminded of the strength, flexibility and character of a community-based healthcare organization that is unique, innovative and progressive.
It seems certain that the tradition of “neighbors helping neighbors” will continue and that the volunteers and financial contributors who keep the association the strong and viable organization it is, expect it to exist and prosper for many years to come.
Special acknowledgment and gratitude to Mr. Laughran S. Vaber of West Stockbridge for his written contributions and research.
EXPERIENCE, COMPASSION &
DEPENDABILITY
West Stockbridge Dental Clinic,1948.
Dr. James W. O'Hearn assisted
by Miss Eunice McNeil.
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Other early programs included dental exams, begun with a borrowed portable dental chair; and well child conferences where volunteers transported parents who brought preschoolers and infants to the school for examinations. Teachers were encouraged to include more instruction on health and hygiene in the classroom. |
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