Mark Masselli (born 1951) is an American public health leader and community organizer.[1] In 1972, Masselli co-founded Community Health Center (CHC), the largest Federally Qualified Health Center in Connecticut. He has served as CHC's president and CEO since the organization's founding.[2] CHC provides primary care services to more than 150,000 patients at 200 sites across Connecticut. CHC was also integral in setting up and running Connecticut's COVID-19 vaccination sites, administering more than half a million vaccines.[3] Masselli's work conceiving and building CHC is detailed in Peace & Health: How a group of small-town activists and college students set out to change healthcare.[4]
Mark Masselli | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1951 |
| Occupation | American public health leader |
| Spouse | Jennifer Alexander |
| Children | 4 |
| Parents |
|
Early life and education
editMasselli was born in 1951 in Middletown, Connecticut to Nicholas William Masselli and Ida Marie (Rusconi) Masselli.[5] He attended Xavier High School, graduating in 1969.[6] In 2009, Masselli was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by Wesleyan University.[7]
Community Health Center
editIn 1972, Masselli founded Community Health Center, Inc. alongside Middletown community activists and students at Wesleyan University, including John Hickenlooper. In his memoir, Senator Hickenlooper describes CHC's beginnings as a free clinic in a walk-up apartment.[8] CHC has evolved into one of the nation's largest and most innovative federally qualified health centers, offering primary medical, dental & behavioral health care and an array of specialty services.
CHC operates with a basic core mission: healthcare is a right, not a privilege. The center makes a special commitment to providing care to the uninsured, underserved, and key populations such as those living with HIV/AIDS.[9]
During the 1990s, supported by federal funding for FQHCs, CHC expanded to midsize cities across Connecticut, including New London, Meriden, and New Britain.[10] The center now operates 16 large community clinics, a national training and technology development arm, and 185 school-based health centers.
In 2021, CHC set up the largest mass vaccination site in Connecticut in East Hartford. CHC set up additional mass vaccination sites in Stamford and Middletown.[11] In 2022, CHC received funding from the American Rescue Plan to expand virtual appointment options.[12]
Podcast
editMasselli and cohost Margaret Flinter launched Conversations on Health Care on Wesleyan University's radio station WESU in 2009. The first guest was Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.[13] Over the years, the show has been distributed nationally on NPR, as a podcast, a video series, and through major news outlets in New York City and Washington, DC. Guests have included leaders in health care and politics such as Anthony Fauci, Mark Cuban, and Francis Collins.[14]
Professional life
editMasselli's vision of health care expands beyond medical offices. In her book on community renewal, singer-songwriter Dar Williams describes the work Masselli and his wife have done to strengthen the community fabric of Middletown.[15] In 2000, Masselli, together with his wife, established Vinnie's Jump and Jive, a community dance hall, to encourage families to participate in healthy community activities together.[16] Masselli received the key to the city of Middletown in 2022.[17]
Masselli is Chair-Elect of the board for the School-Based Health Alliance, board chair of the National Institute for Medical Assistant Advancement, and board chair of ConferMED. He also serves on the board of the National Nurse Practitioner Residency and Fellowship Training Consortium and on the Goodspeed Opera House Board of Trustees.[18]
References
edit- ^ Conversations on Health Care About Us
- ^ From a tiny apartment to statewide health care, Community Health Center turns 50, expands school-based services
- ^ The state's largest COVID vaccine center is up and running — but so far, there's no formal plan to pay for it
- ^ Barber, Charles (2022). Peace & Health. Middletown, CT: Community Health Center, Inc. ISBN 9781959262008.
- ^ Ida Masselli Obituary
- ^ Mark Masselli and Community Health Center's Health Care Model
- ^ New Doctors in Town
- ^ Hickenlooper, John (2016). The Opposite of Woe: My Life in Beer and Politics. New York, NY: Penguin Press. p. 173. ISBN 9781101981672.
- ^ Community Health Center Inc. - Who We Are
- ^ Barber, Charles (2022). Peace & Health. Middletown, CT: Community Health Center, Inc. p. 94. ISBN 9781959262008.
- ^ In Quest for Herd Immunity, Giant Vaccination Sites Proliferate
- ^ "Federal government makes a push for community health centers to provide virtual health services beyond the pandemic". CNN. 2022-02-14. Archived from the original on 2023-02-26.
- ^ Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Dr. Mitch Katz, San Francisco's Director of Public Health, discuss the public option and the universal access program.
- ^ Conversations on Health Care on FNN
- ^ Williams, Dar (2017). What I Found in a Thousand Towns: A Traveling Musician's Guide to Rebuilding America's Communities-One Coffee Shop, Dog Run, and Open-Mike Night at a Time. New York, NY: Basic Books. p. 271. ISBN 9781101981672.
- ^ Storefront Lights up With Dance Hall
- ^ Middletown mayor gives 1st key to city to mark Community Health Center’s 50th
- ^ Mark Masselli – School-Based Health Alliance