The Community Health Center, Inc. has fought for healthcare as a right, not a privilege, for 35 years.  Today, we care for 50,000 patients across Ct. But we did not get here alone, and we cannot go forward alone. We must count on others who will stand shoulder to shoulder with us in the most important and worthy struggle.

Today, we stop for a moment to honor someone who by his action and his speech, by what he has said and what he has done, by what he believes in and what he lives, demonstrates that solidarity and commitment to protecting, promoting, and improving the health and well-being of our residents of Connecticut, particularly those most in need of care and most vulnerable.  As a state representative from 1987-1984  and in his leadership role as Chair of the Public health Committee, Joe Courtney’s leadership brought us the Conn Pace program of prescriptions for the elderly, expanded health insurance coverage for children’s, and fought for support for long term care for the elderly.

Joe has pledged himself to the right for universal health coverage and equally importantly, recognizes that we must go beyond just the issue of insurance, to the issues of effectiveness and outcomes of the care we deliver.   We honor Joe for his tireless efforts in pursuit of this goal.