Support the Baystate Community Health & Wellness Center - Springfield

Meeting the Needs of the Springfield Community

The responsibility of supporting the health of our community is immense. Ensuring there is access to high-quality care is a mission to which Baystate Health is deeply committed. A bedrock of that responsibility is whether those we serve, and those we aim to serve, have access to healthcare professionals, services, and facilities. As we work toward creating a better healthcare system, we ask ourselves: are we located in a facility that is highly accessible and meets multiple needs that are oftentimes complex and overlapping? Do we provide care for all ages—from newborns to our senior population? In the rendering of care, is the process easy and seamless?

These are some of the questions that the Baystate Health team reflects upon when thinking about caring for the health and well-being of our community. We need to have the appropriate number of medical professionals to see patients; we need to be accessible to serve those without reliable transportation; and our care must be able to treat the whole family – from geriatric care to the newest lives entering the world. This is a big undertaking, and Baystate Health is ready to answer these questions and take on these challenge by creating a first-of-its kind comprehensive community health and wellness center in Springfield.

Healthcare Under One Roof

The Baystate Community Health & Wellness Center - Springfield will be in the geographic center of the city of Springfield – at a location with ample parking, on a bus route to ensure accessibility, and close to the populations who need our services the most.

The Center will create an easier typical experience for patients like Angela, a mother of two young children. She’s had shoulder pain for two weeks and has made an appointment to see her primary care physician at the new Baystate Community Health & Wellness Center - Springfield. Unfortunately, Angela was unable to arrange childcare, so her two sons—who have more energy than most adults after a full pot of coffee—are in tow as she loads them on the bus to head to her appointment. When she arrives, she’s greeted by a friendly team member at the registration desk who quickly checks her in, engages with her children and hands two stickers to them, bringing smiles to their faces. Her wait time is short, and her physician advises her that she needs an x-ray, some blood tests, and a prescription medication, all of which are services offered on-site at the new Baystate Community Health & Wellness Center - Springfield. Now, Angela can avoid loading her family back on to the bus as well as the numerous transfers it would take to get to access these services elsewhere. All in all, what may have been a drawn-out medical experience took her an hour, and she and her sons are back home in time for lunch (and, hopefully, a nap).

This is how community healthcare should be – all under one roof at one location to create an easy and friendly experience for all. Angela knows that next time she requires care, she’ll be seen quickly and any additional needs that may arise from her appointment for herself, her sons, or her aging mother who she cares for, can be completed in one location, be it visiting the pharmacy, getting lab work done, or having an x-ray.

Supporting Care for Families like Angela’s

Angela isn’t alone. Baystate Health currently has multiple community health centers within the city, which receive more than 125,000 patient visits annually, with a projected increase to 145,000 by 2028. Four of the health clinics – High Street Health Center’s Adult Practices and General Pediatrics Practice, Mason Square Neighborhood Health Center, and Wesson Women’s Clinic – are either in need of substantial repairs or have outgrown their current facilities, creating barriers to care for patients throughout the city.

As a leading healthcare provider in our region, Baystate Health has learned that establishing a long-term solution that would accommodate patients and make access to care easier is critically important. Another community-focused employer and good corporate neighbor, MassMutual, plays a significant role in the economic well-being of Springfield. MassMutual recognized how the donation of an asset in underutilized property could go a long way toward developing the kind of health center the community needs and deserves. MassMutual’s donation of approximately 10 acres of property located in the southeast corner of its State Street corporate campus, abutting Wilbraham Road, represents the lynchpin of the development of the new Baystate Community Health & Wellness Center - Springfield. In addition to the land donation, the MassMutual Foundation has committed to investing $5 million to support the new Baystate Community Health & Wellness Center - Springfield, which will be owned and operated by Baystate Health. Springfield’s two leading corporations are coming together to create a new resource for all who live in the city.

How You Can Help

When we invest in the health of our community, it has a profound effect – there’s less illness and disability due to reduced disease risk, individuals can be more engaged in their care, and care is coordinated and patient-centered. This investment supports better health for Springfield residents and beyond, and it helps Baystate work toward the elimination of health disparities that impact overall health and wellness, including inequities in employment, income, education, housing, and food access.

The Center will strengthen our community partnerships and assure that our facilities are safe and sustainable. Once completed, the new Center will provide for a “destination” and national model for community engagement and excellence and will support recruitment and retention of top clinical talent, and enhance multidisciplinary educational programming.

This comprehensive facility will aid in remedying some of the most difficult issues our community faces when it comes to health. Your role in this landmark effort is one that will help generations of residents, as well as the community as a whole, to ensure that we all have the same access to this vital human need – quality healthcare.