Outer Cape Health Services (OCHS) today announced that Tom and Trish Kennedy of Brewster have pledged a one-million-dollar gift to the community health center’s capital campaign—Enhancing Spaces, Impacting Lives. The gift is the largest private donation in the organization’s history. The Enhancing Spaces, Impacting Lives campaign is underway to support the opening of a new OCHS community health center in Harwich Port by year end, and the rebuilding expansion of the existing OCHS Wellfleet health center set for completion in 2019. The Kennedy’s historic gift will be applied to a naming opportunity at the new Harwich Port health center.
“Tom and Trish Kennedy have been wonderful stewards of the community in pledging this generous major gift. They believe in our work in helping to provide quality and reliable access to healthcare for all in need on the Lower and Outer Cape,” according to Patricia Nadle, Chief Executive Officer of OCHS. “We could not be more appreciative for their vision and leadership.”
“The Lower and Outer Cape towns have an urgent need for modern, community-based, full-service healthcare facilities — ‘Medical Home Centers’ for all residents, regardless of ability to pay,” shared Trish Kennedy. “Healthcare has become a political punching bag, while everyone in our community suffers from lack of inadequate services. We are proud to support this valiant effort by Outer Cape Health to finally make the Harwich Port facility available to all who call these towns home.”
“The success of the Enhancing Spaces, Impacting Lives campaign will provide greater access to primary care and behavioral health services to thousands of Cape residents who have no or few options closer than Hyannis or Boston, added Pamela French, MD, President of the OCHS Board of Directors. “Our expanded and improved Harwich Port and Wellfleet sites will provide the space and resources to meet our community’s dynamic healthcare needs for decades to come.”
Previously OCHS received a one-million-dollar federal grant for the Harwich Port project from The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Honorary Chairs of the Enhancing Spaces, Impacting Lives Capital Campaign are David B. Willard and Irene Daitch of Wellfleet, and Thomas P. O’Neill III and John Our of Harwich Port. To learn more about ways to support the campaign, contact Kathleen Weiner, OCHS Chief Development Officer at 508-905-2851 or kweiner@outercape.org
More about Outer Cape Health Services, Inc.
Founded in 1987, OCHS operates community health centers in Harwich, Wellfleet and Provincetown offering primary care, specialty and urgent care, behavioral health and dental services, in addition to two pharmacies in Provincetown and Wellfleet, and many other specialty programs. In 2017, OCHS served nearly 17,000 residents and visitors to the Lower and Outer Cape annually with more than 70,000 total patient visits.
As a mission-driven organization, OCHS provides access to capable, compassionate community-based healthcare for patients and visitors of the Outer and Lower Cape, regardless of their ability to pay. OCHS is a licensed Medical Clinic of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). OCHS is recognized by both HRSA and the Joint Commission for being an outstanding community healthcare organization. Learn more at www.outercape.org.
