Community Health Center Inc. celebrates on Meriden Green

Article originally published in Meriden Record-Journal

MERIDEN — Superheroes united Sunday on the Meriden Green to celebrate the Community Health Center’s Meriden location and other centers around the state.

Sharply at noon, the heroes arrived. One of the first, in his bright red cape, was Superman — also known as former Mayor Mike Rohde.

“We feel as though our staff members are superheroes, they do all they can to help those in need,” said Rohde, director of community relationships at Community Health Center Inc.

Over 260 staff members serve over 130,000 patients from Groton to Stamford.

“Here in Meriden alone we serve about 15,000 patients,” Rohde said.

Community Health Center has 15 Connecticut locations that focus on medical, behavioral, and dental care for low-income residents. The Meriden office opened in 1991 and serves city residents and surrounding communities.

 “We help those all around the state, so it was key for us to find a central location … we thought it was a perfect opportunity to pull people here and help rebuild the community and show them what this city has to offer,” said Mark Masselli, president and CEO of Community Health Center.

The four-hour event included catered food, face painting, bounce houses and volleyball.

“This event is a huge morale booster for the staff, it also helps us build a presence in our communities and show people our purpose,” said Maria Minei, who trained in Meriden and now works as a nurse supervisor in the Waterbury CHC location.

CHC presented and donated a map of the Meriden Green, which will display the walking trails and the time it normally takes to complete them.

“We thought long and hard on how to get people to enjoy these grounds, so we thought with people constantly on the move it would be nice to let them know the time it would take to get some quick exercise in, maybe on their lunch break or in between errands,” said Masselli.