People are at the center of everything we do. The patients we serve, our coworkers beside us, and neighbors in our community make up a diverse population. It is our mission to make compassionate and accessible care available to anyone.
We aim to create a welcoming culture in our health centers, providing a safe space of mutual respect where any person can come to receive quality care, and any person can work in an inclusive workplace.
What is trauma-informed care, and why do we practice it?
Trauma-informed care recognizes that trauma history can impact a person throughout their life and that care should always be provided in a way that makes people feel physically, mentally and emotionally safe and prevents re-traumatization. Using trauma-informed language — clear, nonjudgmental, person-first — can improve patient attitudes, actions and outcomes and reduce stigma and barriers to care.
Providing Inclusive Care with Pride
The LGBTQIA+ community faces health disparities such as low rates of cancer screenings, higher rates of depression, smoking and suicidal behavior. Discrimination, poverty, homophobia, transphobia, homelessness, hate crimes, and violence can add to the barriers keeping LGBTQIA+ people from accessing health care. Our Inclusivity Committee is making progress towards making our health center an accessible place for everyone. This means making sure that no matter who you are, you feel welcome here.
We’re Listening
The best way we can make sure everyone feels welcome at our center is to listen to the community. You’ll find members of our inclusivity committee at Pride events, Seacoast Outright meetings, and anywhere we see LGBT+ advocacy. We have goals we want to accomplish before flying a rainbow flag with pride.
We encourage anyone visiting our website or health center to let us know how we can improve accessibility to the LGBT+ population. If you’d like to reach out, please contact us at LGBTQIA@goodwinch.org.
The first Community Health Centers in the United States were founded as a result of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, with the mission of providing accessible health care to all. Without the Civil Rights movement, Community Health Centers would not have the institutional strength and federal support needed to offer the health care services necessary to the health of our communities. Greater Seacoast Community Health recognizes that health-equity disparities for people of color continue to this day, and we consider it our obligation to work to address these inequalities and change the institutionalized systems that uphold them.
What does being a Recovery-Friendly Workplace mean?
Recovery Friendly Workplaces (RFWs) support their communities by recognizing recovery from substance use disorder as a strength and by being willing to work intentionally with people in recovery. RFWs encourage a healthy and safe environment where employers, employees, and communities can collaborate to create positive change and eliminate barriers for those impacted by addiction.
Making health care accessible for everyone in our community
If you don’t have health insurance, or if you have insurance that doesn’t cover all the services you need, staff at our community health centers in Portsmouth and Somersworth can help you explore your options for getting insurance. We also offer patients a sliding-fee discount when using our medical, dental, behavioral health, substance use treatment or pharmacy services. Learn more about our sliding scale program here.
