Health Center Spotlight: The Family Health Center of Worcester (Queen Street)

"Three Residencies in One":  We actually like to say that our Worcester residency is like "three residencies in one" due to our innovative structure: three separate and unique health centers that each offer their own clinical learning opportunities and have separate match numbers.

Two of our health centers are in Worcester (Family Health Center and Hahnemann) and the Barre Health Center is in the small town of Barre, MA, about 20 minutes from Worcester. As a residency applicant, you would choose which of our centers best fits your goals. Each year, four new interns match at each of our three centers.

This month, let's review some essential facts about Family Health Center of Worcester (FHCW), also known as "Queen Street", due to its location:

The Basics:  FHCW is a federally-qualified health center located in downtown Worcester that cares for a diverse, urban-underserved population. The homeless, immigrants and refugees who would otherwise be unable to access medical, dental, social and ancillary services are all welcome at Family Health. FHCW also meets all of the criteria for a Patient-Centered Medical Home.

 

 

Our FHCW faculty members have broad and diverse experience, including fellowship training in Maternal-Child Health and Obstetrics, Sports Medicine, Addiction Medicine and Geriatrics. FHCW also offers its own ADHD clinic, on-site Department of Social Services, a WIC program, dental, psychiatric counseling, addiction medicine, pharmacy, laboratory and radiology services.

Patient Population:  Close to 50% of FHCW patients speak Spanish. FHCW also serves Vietnamese, Albanian, Portuguese, Russian, Burmese, Arabic, and Cambodian speaking patients. They employ full-time Portuguese, Vietnamese, and Albanian interpreters and almost all support staff are bilingual.

Integrative Medicine:  FHCW has providers who are trained in several forms of complementary and non-allopathic medicine. These include (but are not limited to) acupuncture, cupping, gua-sha, hypnosis, osteopathic manipulation, and functional medicine. Learn more about integrative medicine at UMass.

Mentoring:  Daily chart rounds are facilitated by family medicine faculty committed to teaching evidence-based medicine. Their library computers are connected to the UMass library and the web with access to numerous EBM resources, UpToDate and a wide array of online full text journals.

Procedure training:  Residents are trained to do colposcopy, joint injections and all types of skin procedures in weekly clinics. They will learn IUD insertion and endometrial sampling by providing this service to their own patients under the supervision of a preceptor. As a resident, you may work in our on-site Walk-in Center periodically and have the opportunity to care for many acutely ill and injured patients who may require suturing of lacerations, casting of fractures and management of active medical problems.

A Word About Worcester:  Worcester is the second largest city in New England and is home to ten colleges and universities and all walks of life. Worcester has several free meal programs and over 25 food pantries. FHCW has a co-operation with seven Worcester schools to provide services as school-based health centers. Over half of the housing in Worcester is renter occupied and FHCW also has a nationally recognized program of services for homeless families.  

So, if your interests should include global health, addiction medicine, HIV care, women's health and perinatal care, complementary and integrated medicine, you may want to learn more about FHCW! You can also meet our FHCW residents and faculty and check out the FHCW blog "A Day in the Life of a Family Health Resident."