Center for Community Health Education, Research and Service (CCHERS)

Director: Elmer R. Freeman, PhD of Law, Policy, and Sociology

The Center for Community Health Education Research and Service, Inc. (CCHERS) is a community-based organization that is a community/academic partnership established in 1991 with a $6 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Community Partnerships in Health Professions Education initiative. The partnership is comprised of Boston Medical Center, the Boston Public Health Commission, Boston University School of Medicine, Northeastern University Bouvé College of Health Sciences and an established network of fifteen community health centers (FQHC) serving the racially and ethnically diverse populations of the City.

Northeastern University serves as its host institution and sustaining partner. Mission and Goals To promote the development of “academic community health centers,” that integrate education, research, and service, to influence and change health professions education; improve health care delivery; and promote health systems change to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health. Promote community based, primary care oriented education for a range of health professions students, from high school through graduate and professional school, to improve community health services provided to underserved populations. Promote community derived and directed health services and clinical research, in partnerships with academic medical center, government, and university researchers that focus on health problems that impact diverse urban populations. Promote coordination of services and interagency collaboration among universities, health service providers, community-based organizations, and community residents to create healthier communities. Promote public policy and institutional change in health professions education, community health, and health care access to create an equitable health care system for all.

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Last Updated on October 23, 2020