In 1971, the Peoples Free Clinic opened in a tiny storefront in Burlingtons Old North End. Announcing a new kind of health care, the Peoples Free Clinic founders envisioned a mission that would make a resonating statement: every personregardless of age, race, class, or genderdeserves good medical care despite their ability to pay.
Staffed entirely by volunteersincluding two local physiciansthe small clinic saw 50 people per week by the end of the following year, often treating minor wounds, providing health information, and sick visits. Soon, the clinic would strengthen its commitment to grow, and become the Community Health Centers of Burlington (CHCB).
CHCB was officially awarded the federal status of a Healthcare for the Homeless Program grantee in 1989 and today remains the only organization in Vermont with this designation, ensuring completely free access to health care for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. CHCB was then designated Vermonts secondFederally Qualified Health Center, allowing for additional support and enabling services such as social work and financial assistance. The success of this model was demonstrated with the outpouring of community support in 2001 that enabled CHCB to create its 10,000 square foot flagship main facility on Riverside Avenue.
CHCB opened the Pearl Street Youth Health Center in 2004, Vermonts only medical site designed for homeless and at-risk youth. That same year, our Safe Harbor Health Center, serving homeless adults and families, expanded to a new two exam room facility, offering primary and preventive health care, dental care, mental health and substance abuse counseling and Housing First, a supportive housing program for homeless patients with chronic medical conditions.
In 2012, CHCB saw tremendous growth through the newly-renovated Riverside Health Center, allowing for more patients to make CHCB their Health Care Home.The new Riverside Health Center allowed for increased programs and services, notably integrated psychiatry and counseling and treatment assistance for patients struggling with drug/alcohol use disorders.
During that same year, CHCB established our first rural practice in Grand Isle County, ensuring access to care for three surrounding towns after the sole physician in the area retired. This practice transitioned to a new site in South Hero in November 2016, operating as the newly re-named Champlain Islands Health Center and expanded access to care even further for residents of southern Grand Isle County.
2016 also saw the addition of Burlington Primary Care, since re-named the South End Health Center, and welcomed GoodHEALTH Internal Medicine in South Burlington to the CHCB family. The following year, the South End Health Center added a dental center, transferring operatories from the Safe Harbor Health Center.
Throughout the year, CHCB continued working with community partners on the permanent housing program at Beacon Apartments. CHCB also began operating Burlingtons only low-barrier shelter in 2016, providing a safe space and care management for the local homeless population. We continued to oversee operations of this seasonal shelter through June of 2019. The only low-barrier shelter in the greater Burlington area, this model was designed to engage with guests and develop the trusting relationships and connections to long-term services needed to lift them permanently out of homelessness.
Winooski Family Health joined CHCB as our eighth location in May 2017. Located in our Medically Underserved Area, this partnership extends the Federally Qualified Health Center services to their patient base while uniting our already-aligned missions of care.
CHCBs story is one of continued growth, now caring for over 30,000 patients, but the pace of that growth has accelerated rapidly as community need continues to grow and as community members and partners look to us to do what we do best provide affordable, quality health care to all who need it, regardless of financial status or life circumstance. Together with our community, we look forward to many more decades of careful stewardship of our remarkable mission.
CHCB is a community leader in cultural sensitivity. We strive to take a holistic approach to health care inclusive of our patients cultural beliefs and practices. CHCB recognizes and appreciates the rich diversity that our patients and staff contribute to our community. As a mission-focused organization grounded in a commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, we reject hate in all of its manifestations. We always have, and always will, welcome and respect all individuals regardless of their gender, religion, financial or life circumstances, ethnic background, sexual orientation, age, or language.
As a Federally Qualified Health Center, more than half of CHCBs Board of Directors are active patients, living and working in our community. This diverse leadership gives CHCB a unique ability to understand and respond to the needs of those we serve.
Our Board and Board Committee meetings have shifted to hybrid model for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you would like to join one of these meetings either in-person or via ZOOM, please contact Janel at jaolea@chcb.org and she will help you get connected to the meeting of interest.
Rob Gibson (President)is currently a Senior Engineering Manager in the semiconductor industry, which is where he has spent most of his career. During a period of time when Rob was working in the health care IT industry, he was introduced to the Community Health Centers of Burlington. Rob quickly came to appreciate and support the important role that CHCB plays in providing high quality, integrated medical, dental and mental health care that is accessible to everyone in our community and joined the Board of Directors in 2016.
Beth Sightler (Vice President)has been a patient of CHCB for over two decades. She has been the Executive Director of Champlain Community Services (CCS) in Colchester, a nonprofit specialized service agency and one of the statewide designated agencies that supports Vermonters with intellectual disabilities and autism, since 2013. People served by CCS also experience co-occurring chronic long-term health care challenges, mental health issues and substance use disorders. In addition, Beth lives with her family, beehives, goldfish pond/raccoon spa, and chickens in the Old North End in Burlington and enjoys trail running, writing and art. Beth has been on the Board of Directors at CHCB since 2017.
Holly Moriglioni (Secretary) has been a medical patient at CHCB for 20 years and has served as a CHCB patient representative on the Board of Directors since September, 2015. She currently serves as Secretary on the Executive Committee and also as a member of the Community Relations and Development Committee. She has served previous years on the Executive Committee as Secretary and as the Vice President. Holly has worked for over 25 years in Early Education in the nonprofit sector. Her commitment to the CHCB Board of Directors derives from the principle that high quality, accessible health care is a human right. She is proud to serve at an organization that provides access, exceptionally well, to people of all circumstances, with an empathetic, respectful approach.
Eric Kratochvil, MPA (Treasurer) was attracted to the Board at CHCB because of the mission and values. As someone who is committed to our communitys safety, he finds it especially rewarding and refreshing to be a part of fulfilling that mission. As a patient at CHCB, Eric is often impressed with the level of compassion and drive demonstrated by the staff.
Noma B. Anderson, PhD is the dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at the University of Vermont. Prior to joining UVM, she served as special advisor to the University of Tennessee System President on Diversity and Inclusion and as former professor in the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology in the College of Health Professions at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), where she also served as dean of the College of Health Professions. Prior to arriving to the University of Tennessee, she was a professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Florida International University (FIU) and former dean of the School of Health Sciences. Dr. Anderson was on the faculty in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Howard University in Washington, D.C. and chaired that department for ten years. She has also been on the faculty at Hampton University. She received her B.A. degree from Hampton Institute (VA), her M.S. degree from Emerson College (Boston MA), and her Ph.D. degree from the University of Pittsburgh (PA). She began her clinical career at Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh, and was also employed as Supervisor for Speech, Language and Hearing for Pittsburgh Head Start. Dr. Andersons professional areas of expertise are in multicultural aspects of communication sciences and disorders, health and educational disparities, language acquisition, and childhood language disorders.
Tim Ashe brings substantial government and professional experience to his service on CHCBs Board of Directors. His government service spans the local, state, and national levels. A former Burlington City Councilor and Congressional staffer, Tim served six terms in the Vermont State Senate, including two terms as its elected President. Professionally, Tim was an affordable housing developer for eight years at Cathedral Square, a tenure during which he created and rehabbed nearly 400 affordable apartments for older Vermonters. He now contracts with nonprofits to provide project management services on development projects. A longtime CHCB patient, he believes its mission matches his own.
Heather Danis, MPH, RD is a long-time patient at CHCB who became interested in serving on the Board to more directly support the organization. In addition to caring personally about the patient care provided by CHCB, she is deeply committed to CHCBs mission and sees serving on the Board as a great opportunity to contribute to an organization that does so much for the community.
Hemant Ghising, EdD is a former refugee from Bhutan. He came to Burlington in 2011 through the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program. It means a lot for him to have a country of his own after being stateless for 18 years. Prior to coming to the United States, he worked as a volunteer teacher and devoted a number of years of community service in a refugee camp and the United States. Hemant received an EdD degree in educational leadership and policy study from the University of Vermont with a research focus in post-secondary education for refugees/immigrants and low-income communities. Having undergone harsh refugee conditions in Nepal, he strongly believes EDUCATION is a means for survival, and the change it can bring in the self and the world is tremendous. Hemant loves karate, hiking, and soccer.
Abijah (Francis) Manga is a doctoral candidate, pursuing his PhD in Education through the University of Vermonts Department of Leadership and Policy Studies. Francis owns a small business called Loving Home Care that takes care of elderly and inbound people. He is currently a Mental Health First Aid Trainer and works for the Association of Africans Living in Vermont (AALV) as a Youth Program Coordinator. Prior to joining AALV, he worked at Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) as the Fair Housing Projects Specialist. Before that, he worked at the Congolese Prime Ministers office as a Foreign Affairs Expert. Moreover, he is a passionate teacher and taught in a high school for more than 5 years.Francis holds a masters degree in Public Management from South Korea and has another masters degree in Education from Saint Michaels College. He believes in integrating modern values with traditional beliefs.
Thomas Moore, MSS, BCBA, LBA has been a patient at CHCB for almost a decade and has always received excellent care. He finds it an honor to be on the Board of Directors for an organization that provides great value and support to the community. Thomas goal in serving on the Board is to offer his varied background and experience personally and professionally. The majority of his career has been devoted to providing support and services to individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. He is a Licensed Behavior Analyst in the state of Vermont and is appreciative for the great experience he has had working directly with families of varied backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses state- and nation-wide, and abroad. Most recently, Thomas transferred his skills and experience to focus more on Public Health and Quality Improvement within different health care settings. He is committed to giving his all to the Board so that he can give back at least some of the dedication and positive results that CHCB has provided him over the years.
Beth Reilly, BSN, RN is a Registered Nurse with a background in critical care, community health, case management and school nursing. Beth received her Bachelor of Nursing from UMASS Boston where her program had a focus on preparing nurses to be decision makers and leaders in providing equitable access to healthcare. She also has a bachelors in English Literature and Psychology.
Beth first came to work at CHCB as a Medical Assistant and was inspired by the organizational mission and her colleagues to become a nurse. Throughout her tenure at CHCB, Beth has worked as a Medical Assistant, Registered Nurse, Community Health Team member, and is currently Chair of the Community Relations & Development Committee. When not working, Beth enjoys trail running, traveling, and spending time with her two young children.
