Ken Lalime

Chief Executive Officer

As many of you know, I came on board as Chief Executive Officer for the Community Health Center Association of CT (CHCACT) three weeks ago today. While I bring a broad health care background with me – having worked as a pharmacist, and in several positions in hospitals and, most recently, leading an insurance company – I admit I am still learning all the ins and outs of the health center world.

Through visits to health centers, as well as a flurry of meetings with health center leaders, statewide partners and CHCACT staff, I am getting brought up to speed on services provided, locations, and a number of ongoing projects, ranging from new grants around intimate partner violence and readiness for health information exchanges, to our Practice Transformation Network efforts around quality improvement, to workforce recruitment/development/retention. This past Friday, I was pleased to participate in the graduation ceremony for CHCACT’s “Prescription for Leading Yourself & Others” program, which develops mid-level health center staff into future leaders!

I have been continually impressed by the breadth and scope of the services provided by our state’s health centers. Moving forward, I’ll seek to bring the “Three Cs” to our work: Communication, Collaboration and Cooperation. CT’s seventeen health center organizations often do work together on initiatives; for example, Cornell Scott-Hill and Fair Haven have recently agreed to work together, with Yale-New Haven Hospital to provide primary care services. In Bridgeport, Optimus and Southwest Community Health Centers collaborate on a cognitive behavioral intervention program for children facing trauma. Additional communication, collaboration and cooperation will serve to improve health care access and delivery for people across our state.

I look forward to working with all of you in those efforts!

Ken