50 Stories, the Final Chapter: A Story of Gratitude |
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A little over a year ago, we began our 50 Stories for 50 Years by recalling the song "Seasons of Love," from the musical Rent, which asks, "How do you measure a year?"
We imagined that song to be the soundtrack of our anniversary year, capped by confetti and a big, bold community celebration that was filled to the brim with laughter, nostalgia, and hope for the future.
We could never have imagined the reality of the year that lay ahead.
Still, we managed to celebrate our history. And 50 Stories was a key part of that.
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My, how we've grown! The Lowell CHC team in the 1970s (top) and a rendering of the Bishop Markham public housing development (bottom), the first location of what would later become Lowell Community Health Center. |
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At first, we weren’t sure how to continue. How would people respond to these stories in a world suddenly re-defined by isolation and uncertainty? As it turns out, sharing these inspiring, heartwarming, and hopeful personal experiences were just what the doctor ordered. They helped us feel connected to one another, and to know each other a little better.
Over the remaining months of 2020, we continued to celebrate our patients, our employees, and our community partners for creating a community caring for a community for five decades – and continuing to persevere amidst every hardship COVID put in the way.
Thank you to each and every one of our storytellers for your time, honesty, and reflection. In your stories, we saw ourselves, our friends, our neighbors, and our Health Center more fully.
None of these stories would have happened were it not for Lowell General Hospital and its decision to open a small health clinic in a vacant apartment in the former Bishop Markham public housing development in 1970.
The hospital's role in building what is now Lowell Community Health Center is memorialized on a timeline that we unveiled to great fanfare just in the nick of time last January. At least we got to use a little of that confetti!
I am sure Lowell General never imagined what that clinic would grow to become – a beacon of hope and healing for all who need it.
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All those years ago, hospital leadership saw a need, and they filled it.
This makes me think of the past year when we, too, could not have imagined what we were getting into, and what we would be called to do. And I am grateful to Lowell General for being right there at our side.
The hospital cared for the sickest victims of COVID-19 and stood up drive-through testing virtually overnight. Now, they are vaccinating our first responders and many of our community partners. They are now putting their expertise and resources behind opening a vaccination site. We meet almost daily to share information and resources, and at times to provide moral support.
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Circle Health/LGH CEO Jody White speaks at our 50th Anniversary timeline dedication a little over a year ago (top); Jody and I celebrate the opening of 101 Jackson Street with our community - and plenty of confetti (bottom). |
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To Jody White, Lowell General/Circle Health CEO, and to everyone at Circle Health, we close by saying, thank you, for your foresight in creating the "little health center that could," for your constant and generous support, and for your collaboration.
The great Fred Rogers once said, "Often when you think you're at the end of something, you're at the beginning of something else."
Here's to new beginnings. And more stories of hope, healing, and health ahead.
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Susan West Levine
Lowell Community Health Center CEO
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2020 and our 50th Anniversary year, have come officially come to a close! Thank you for joining us in celebrating the people we’ve served, the people who have served, and those in the community who have sustained us for five decades.
Here's to another 50 years of Health Center stories that inspire, enlighten, and bring meaning to our mission of hope and healing in Greater Lowell!
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ABOUT US
Lowell Community Health Center began in 1970 to make sure that everyone in
Greater Lowell has access to quality, compassionate, and culturally responsive
health care, regardless of ability to pay.
As we look to the future, we will continue to honor the transformative power of
kindness and understanding so that everyone in our community receives
exactly the care that they need and deserve.
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