News Conference Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy, Announcing $690,000 In New Federal Funds For Burlington Community Health Center

February 28, 2000

I am happy to be here with you today and with Senator Jeffords to celebrate the good news that the Burlington Community Health Center will receive $690,000 toward the Building Renewal Project, the incredibly successful campaign to purchase and renovate the health center's space on Riverside Avenue.

There are a lot of things to applaud today. First, I want to congratulate the leadership of the Burlington Community Health Center and the Building Renewal Project for an incredibly successful capital campaign. You have far surpassed your initial goals which is going to allow you to provide more service to more people than you had initially planned for.

Second, I want to pay special thanks to the generosity of the Burlington community for helping to make this project an overwhelming success. It is always a wonderful thing to see individuals within a community come together to support a project as important as this one.

Community Health Centers are the backbone of rural and underserved America. Since 1971, the Burlington Community Health Center has been serving the needs of the Old North End and surrounding communities to provide essential health care services to those facing the most barriers: the working poor, recent refugees, the homeless and impoverished residents.

The mission of the Burlington Community Health Center is to serve low income, homeless and uninsured Vermonters and for 29 years, it has been providing essential health care services for Vermonters, regardless of their ability to pay. The Burlington Community Health Center was founded in 1971 when I was serving Chittenden County as State's Attorney. Back in those days it was a small, all-volunteer clinic, but it has expanded and evolved over the years to become a full fledged family practice with close to 50 staff members and health care providers today.

The Health Center has seen a lot of change over the past 29 years. From its early days as a volunteer clinic, to hiring its first paid staff in the mid-80s, the Burlington Community Health Center has changed with the needs of the community it serves. That is why this funding is so important. This funding will help the health center continue to grow and expand to meet the needs of the growing Burlington community.

The Burlington Community Health Center provides a wide range of health care services. Services include things ranging from primary and preventive health care to obstetrical and prenatal care to early cancer detection and treatment.

The Community Health Center is a strong neighbor and important partner in the Burlington community. It collaborates with organizations throughout the area such as Spectrum Youth and Family Services to provide health care for homeless and runaway adolescents; the King Street Youth Center to provide health education and counseling to underprivileged youth; and, UVM and its students in medicine, nursing, social work and other profession who are placed at the Health Center to experience Community based health care. I am so pleased with the work that you have all done and it makes me proud to see what a fine example you are of dedicated people, successfully breaking down the barriers that prevent too many Vermonters from receiving the health care that they deserve and need to receive. You do important work that betters the lives of so many.

I know that the Community Health Center will continue to be an essential piece of the Old North End and Burlington communities and I look forward to seeing you grow over the next 29 years as well.