In the News

Caring Health Center has a 2,000-person waiting list. On Feb. 3, it will open a new facility on Boston Road to address that demand.

“Because there is a need,” said Tania M. Barber, the nonprofit’s president and CEO. “There are 2,000 people in the community on a waitlist to access care.”

Caring Health, now in its 30th year, focuses on removing barriers to health care by making it affordable, accessible and delivering it with cultural sensitivity. With 325 trained professionals, Caring Health sees 20,000 patients a year with 91,000 visits in 22 communities. It provides health care in 47 languages.

People without primary care, whether they are on a waiting list or not, often seek care in emergency rooms. But many suffer from conditions that worsen without regular doctor visits — at nursing homes, according to officials who spoke Monday at a ribbon-cutting.

Barber said the new Boston Road facility aims to shorten that waiting list.

“This is what we were called upon to do,” said U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield. “People who need health care have to have access to health care.”

The 14,000-square-foot facility was built over three years at a cost of more than $5 million. It will serve people in the Pine Point and Indian Orchard neighborhoods who might be hours away — by public bus — from Caring Health’s headquarters on South Main Street in Springfield.

The new office at 1235 Boston Road will provide comprehensive adult and pediatric medical care, along with dental and behavioral health services. A pharmacy just inside the front door was awaiting its stock of medications on Monday.

“One stop for our clients,” Barber said. “They can come stay right here and get their prescriptions filled. We do delivery for prescriptions.”

The dental practice has its own entrance. Large and inviting waiting rooms lead to exam suites. The new offices are on a bus route. Existing offices at 860 Boston Road run by the nonprofit will now be dedicated to reproductive health care.

Workers on Monday were still moving in furniture and equipment as officials toured the site.

Getting it ready

Caring Health Center bought the former VCA Boston Road Animal Hospital and 2.6-acre property for $2 million in 2023.

The city of Springfield granted Caring Health $1 million — in two $500,000 increments in 2022 and 2023 — from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Neal said the new center is an example of efforts during the pandemic that helped to bolster the American economy.

“This is the way more and more health care will be delivered,” Neal said of the Caring Health facility. “On an outpatient basis.”

Health insurance like Medicare and Medicaid are important parts of keeping Caring Health going.

Nearly all Massachusetts children have health insurance. As of 2023, 98.3% of Massachusetts residents were insured.

“The idea of health insurance is to spread risk,” Neal said. “We don’t know when we are going to get sick. That’s why we buy insurance.”

Neal promised no retreat on Medicare and Medicaid coverage and benefits, despite calls from some for cuts.

“We are advancing this steadily, and, by the way, due to some of the resistance, incrementally,” he said. “There can be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid.”