KCC Celebrates New Board Member, New Community Partnership

By John Voket

Kevin’s Community Center, Newtown’s free adult health clinic. has announced two recent strategic moves — one at its board level and the other in relation to a new regional health care alliance.

At its Board of Director’s meeting on December 7, KCC’s board welcomed a new member, former Newtown Board of Education vice chairman Lisa Schwartz, to its ranks. According to founder and Executive Director Z. Michael Taweh, MD, the addition of a seventh member points to KCC’s increasing commitment to serving the Newtown Community.

Besides her tenure with the school board, where she championed numerous high profile municipal and community education initiatives, Ms Schwartz is also a former member of the local Legislative Council. For the past year, she has served on the KCC volunteer advisory board where she helped with fundraising and event planning.

Ms Schwartz hopes to lend her voice to KCC’s campaign to raise awareness and further the mission of the organization.

Newtown resident Michael Ronan, a KCC founding board member and Samaritan Health Center, Inc (SHC) founding board member, announced the opening of a free pediatric health care clinic founded on the KCC model of care December 15. SHC is a Christian faith-based 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

“We’re delighted to announce that the Samaritan Health Center, our free pediatric clinic, has begun serving the children of Danbury,” Mr Ronan said in an email to The Newtown Bee.

The new partnership opens up a referral network under which children from Newtown who come to the local clinic to be seen can now receive medical attention from Samaritan Health Center located at 13 Rose Street, Danbury. SHC also intends to refer adult patients to KCC.  

Initial SHC patient care hours are: Monday, from 11:30 am to 6:30 pm; Wednesday from 8 am to 7 pm; and Friday from 8 am to 2 pm. Children of all faiths will be served.

Appointments are encouraged and can be scheduled by calling 791-2794; SHC’s service area is the greater Danbury area, including Newtown, with a concentration in the city.

Mr Ronan said KCC was instrumental in supporting the launch of Samaritan Health Center.

“It was one year ago this month that the staff of SHC visited Dr Taweh and the staff of KCC seeking support and experienced guidance to open this new pediatric clinic,” Mr Ronan said. “Sharing our KCC experience, increasing the availability of free health care, and supporting other free clinics are KCC core values. This opening is the fruit of that labor. Many children in our area will be served, and perhaps saved, as a result.”

Samaritan Health Center will provide comprehensive, holistic pediatric services to children ages newborn to 18 in the greater Danbury community who lack insurance and access to regular health care. The center offers a full range of preventive medical services, including

*physical examinations and immunizations

*sports and camp physicals

*sick visits and urgent care

*in-office procedures (e.g., rapid strep, removal of foreign bodies, burn treatment, chemical cauterization, nebulizer, and suture and wound repair and treatment)

Health care services are free of charge to eligible children whose total household income is under 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, as well as to those who do not meet the federal poverty guidelines, but who demonstrate need and who are under- or uninsured.

Additional services include:

*free vaccines through “Vaccines For Children,” a federally funded program for eligible patients

*translation services

*monthly workshops and seminars on health-related topics for parents, guardians, and caregivers

*semiannual workshops/training for education personnel (daycare centers, school-based health centers, public schools, Head Start programs, etc)

*extended hours for scheduling convenience

The Samaritan Health Center, a division of Jericho Partnership, Inc, offers sponsorship (especially vaccinations and office visits) as well as clinical and nonclinical volunteer opportunities. Jericho Partnership, Inc is a collaboration of congregations and Christ-centered ministry agencies serving the youth, at-risk, and homeless populations of Danbury,

For further information, contact the clinic at 791-2794 or visit jerichopartnership.org.

Kevin’s Community Center is a not-for-profit medical clinic which provides free medical care to adults over age 18 who meet eligibility requirements and are either medically uninsured or underinsured. The clinic is at 31 Peck’s Lane in Newtown, and is open every Wednesday from 1 to 5 p.m.

KCC is staffed by volunteer doctors and nurses and funded by grants; the generous donations of local merchants and individuals lends additional financial support. In its five-year history, the clinic has had nearly 2,500 patient visits, amounting to more than $2 million in free medical care.

The vision for KCC’s future includes a more comprehensive program of medical outreach, wellness seminars, and a resource/lending library. For more information, or to make a tax-deductible contribution, visit Kevinscommunitycenter.org or call 426-0496.