Celebrating 75 years of Community Health: Amherst’s Musante Health Center and the Hilltown Community Health Centers 

It is stating the obvious that healthcare and health insurance coverage are serious concerns for many of us at the moment. The government shutdown has been shaped by this very issue. The anticipated loss of either coverage or vital medical services bears down on people along with the escalating cost of living. The League of Women Voters of Amherst has stated in its most recent newsletter, “We are in a remarkable moment in the fight for health care reform.” So it was with this in mind that I gratefully attended an event in early October, celebrating 75 years of community health in Hampshire county. 

We hear about how communities of care can support a family or individual with medical or dental needs. “Community” health as a term that suggests that these aspects of healthcare–and many others–can or ought to be found together, locally, under one roof. 

One much-needed community healthcare center has been located in Amherst since 2016 when the John P. Musante Health Center (see also here) opened under the same umbrella as the Worthington and Huntington Health Centers. When it was founded in 2016, it “fill[ed] a gap in health services by providing coordinated primary medical, dental, and behavioral care to residents of central Hampshire County, regardless of their ability to pay.” The Musante Health Center is located on the lower level of the Town of Amherst’s Bangs Community Center, complementing services provided by the Public Health Department, CRESS (Community Responders for Equity, Safety and Service) and the Senior Center (among other departments) upstairs. Combined with its hilltown offices, HCHC overall serves almost 9,000 patients through over 31,000 annual visits, providing integrated care in 16 languages. Another benchmark is that the HCHC is also celebrating 50 years as a Federally Qualified Health Center. 

Coming from the U.K., a country that prided itself on free health care from cradle to grave through its National Health Service), I’ve been a fan of this kind of integrated medical care. The setting for the HCHC anniversary celebration was under a large tent on the grounds of the Worthington Historical Society in one of Hampshire County’s most picturesque hilltowns. It was a bright, early fall day, sunny with clear skies. On arrival, there were family-friendly activities like face-painting, several raffles, refreshments, and a live band that included staff from the regional CDC.

There were two real highlights for me at the event: the first was that the previous Amherst Town Manager, the late John Musante, was represented by his family at the event and his daughter accepted a Founders Award on his behalf. It was his love of Amherst that got the Musante Health Center built in Amherst rather than Hadley, which was also once considered as a possible site. The move to further expand connected the hilltowns with other parts of the county in town centers. And today, with the present federal administration’s attempts to eliminate health coverage funding, the Musante Health Center provides services and coverage for many, especially our most vulnerable residents. 

I never met John P. Musante but remember that he is related to “Peanut John” Musante (1848- 1904) & Candida Musante (18??-1924) who were first-generation Italian immigrants, who moved to Amherst in 1882. They worked as fruit and nut vendors from a sidewalk stand along Merchant’s Row on South Pleasant Street and a wagon at Amherst College. 

The other big plus at the event was encountering a folk legend! I will share a little more of the history of the HCHC and a photo to divulge who it is!

The organization began in 1950, founded by Florence Berry Bates (1892-1973) who trained as a nurse at Cooley Dickinson Hospital at the end of World War I. She became involved with the Red Cross ambulance service (founded in 1922) and rural visiting nurses programs operating in the area. Along with other stakeholders (shown in the 1950 photo from the Daily Hampshire Gazette below), Nurse Florence Bates recognized the urgent need for permanent healthcare in the rural hilltowns. When there appeared to be no doctor available to serve the Worthington area in the 1940s, she helped to launch the Worthington Health Association, incorporated in 1950, laying the foundation for what would become an enduring community institution. “They [ran] a rural nursing service with one nurse serving Cummington, Goshen, Plainfield, Chesterfield, and Worthington. [Over time the] practice extended to Peru and Ashfield as well.”

Two principal ideas guided the creation of the new health center. One was that everybody would be served, regardless of their ability to pay. The second idea was to attract young doctors, dentists and practitioners to the area by providing a physical space to work that also could offset administrative costs and overhead expenses and provide specialized equipment. Nursing care was offered, along with prenatal care, the home delivery of babies, and area-wide sanitary inspections. Later on, rehabilitation services were added when the center moved into the Women’s Benevolent Society Parsonage on Huntingdon Road. By 1958, the president of the board of trustees, Carl Joslyn, stated: “We believe the health center has succeeded […] because it is an enterprise of, by, and for the people it serves.  It sprang from their need for medical care. It was created by their own efforts, and it is supported by their voluntary donations.” 

By 1972 free family planning had been added.  In 1981, the Huntington office opened, serving Blandford, Chester, Huntington, Montgomery, and Russell. And it was by this time that a satellite health center (not a clinic as is sometimes assumed) in Amherst or Hadley was identified as a priority. 

But the 75th anniversary celebration itself was not only a shout-out relating to the rich history of the HCHC; it also succeeded in “reaffirm[ing] our commitment to the communities we serve” [since] …We exist because of, and for, our neighbors, and we’re excited to celebrate this milestone together,” said CEO Dr. Michael Purdy. The event was indeed a time to celebrate the vitality, strength, and resiliency of the communities of Western Massachusetts. 

This was borne out in presentations of the Florence Bates Awards for Staff Excellence to staff who “exemplify HCHC’s mission and values in the areas of clinical practice, clinical support, and stewardship.” This was shared by another key stakeholder and current HCHC trustee, Nancy Gilbert, who lives in Amherst. (She used to be one of my neighbors.) She had helped to organize the event that brought supporters, friends, patients, staff and other community members together from all over the region. 

Apart from John Musante’s family being recognized as one of the honorees of the Founders Circle for financial contributions that have supported the continued growth of the health center, other honorees included Mary P. Allison, Roy and Helen McCann (who donated land in 1964), and Steffen W. Plehn. The most thrilling part of the event for me was the last honoree to be recognized, the legendary singer-songwriter Arlo Guthrie who had helped to fundraise for the health center in the 1970s with a concert at Sena’s Acres in Worthington. I confess to being a bit star-struck!

Nancy Gilbert recalled going to the concert, held on October 5, 1975, that was attended by 8,000 people and raised about $18,000. A couple of the original posters advertising the event were on display inside the historical society where one could read “The leaves are falling and the birds are leaving but Arlo Guthrie is staying to help out by singing songs…..bring sweaters and blankets.” 

HCHC and its Amherst office are indeed the metaphorical “sweaters and blankets” we need in this challenging time for our country and for healthcare specifically. I met Kilo Malin, Amherst’s Public Health Director, at the anniversary event and she stated: “We are so fortunate to have a community health center in the same building as the Public Health Department and other Town services. We refer people almost every day to the John P. Musante Health Center and have actively partnered with Musante staff on events, training sessions and projects. There are undoubtedly many more rich opportunities for further connection and collaboration! “