About LCHC

The Heart of Our Community. Ahead of the Curve.

Lynn Community Health Center is a non-profit, multicultural, community health center. Located in the heart of our community, we are at the center of a larger solution to the healthcare crisis that is facing our nation today. We are recognized as a leader in developing new initiatives that result in high-impact, low cost health care.

Our mission is to provide comprehensive health care to everyone in our community, regardless of ability to pay

At the health center, board-certified providers lead teams of health professionals who can address almost any non-emergency health need or chronic condition. These teams include highly-qualified mental health therapists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, dentists, optometrists, pharmacists, community health workers, and other specialists. LCHC uses an innovative, integrative care model called a patient-centered medical home, which is designed to respect each patient’s unique needs.
We are committed to social justice and reducing barriers to care. Our staff reflect the diversity within the community we serve, and we provide care in many languages and with respect for all cultures.

At LCHC, you are at the center of your care.

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Our Community, Our People, and Our History

Lynn, Massachusetts

Lynn, Massachusetts, the largest city in Essex county, is famous for its industrial history and contribution to the labor movement. For two centuries, Lynn has welcomed both immigrants from other countries and those fleeing slavery within our own country, resulting in a multicultural city proud of its diversity. Lynn Community Health Center’s employees reflect this diversity, and are committed to the ongoing work of social justice and reducing health disparities.

From the very beginning

From the very beginning, Lynn Community Health Center has been dedicated to identifying gaps in healthcare for Lynn’s residents, and stepping into those gaps. In 1971, when William Mantzoukas was hired by the City of Lynn to found a health center, the first thing he did was hire Stephen D. Hayes, a newly minted psychologist with a big vision and a desire to serve those in need. They discovered an almost complete lack of mental health services in the community, and responded by launching the Community Counseling Center in a tiny storefront on Chestnut Street.

1976

After serving 500 patients in the first year, it became obvious that our patients were also facing extreme barriers to accessing primary care. In 1976 we moved to a larger building and began providing medical and obstetrical services.

650 staff and 150 clinicians

Today we have more than 650 staff and 150 clinicians who provide primary medical care, dental care, behavioral health, eye care, pharmacy services, and social services to more than 40,000 patients at over 25 locations in the City of Lynn, including our School-Based Health Centers.

Today

We moved to our current main location at 269 Union Street in 1993. Since that time we have gone from 62,000 patient visits per year to 283,000. For the past few years, LCHC has consistently seen over 400 new patients every month. In response to this increase in demand, we completed the new Stephen D. Hayes Building in 2012, doubling our existing space. We are now the largest provider of comprehensive primary care services in our community, serving over 40% of Lynn residents.

Our Founders

In 1971 William Mantzoukas was hired by the City of Lynn to found a health center. The first thing he did was hire Stephen D. Hayes, a newly minted psychologist with a big vision and a desire to serve those in need. Together they began the journey that brought us to where we are today.
We started out as the Community Counseling Center in a tiny storefront on Chestnut Street where we served 500 patients in the first year. It was immediately clear that our patients were also in desperate need of primary care. In 1976 we moved to a larger building and began providing medical and obstetrical services. Over the years we have continued to grow to meet the healthcare needs of our community, and are now the largest provider of comprehensive primary care services in our community, serving over 40% of Lynn residents.
It was during these early years that Dr. Hayes began envisioning mental health services as a critical part of primary care. Revolutionary at the time, his vision is one that is now widely recognized, and has become the cornerstone of the current Patient Centered Medical Home Initiative which is being widely adopted at both the state and federal levels. Dr. Hayes was a true leader in promoting the idea that the body, mind and soul need to be treated together and in an integrated fashion.
Bill Mantzoukas served for 3 years as the health center’s Executive Director, and has continued as a friend and board member ever since. His vision has carried us through many moves and new programs.
Dr. Hayes never wavered in his commitment to the physical and mental health of our patients. He served as Director of Behavioral Health and Director of Integrated Care Services for 40 years before his death in 2011. It is in honor of his amazing dedication and commitment that our new building bears his name.

In 2010 Bill and Steve were honored by Lynn Community Health Center.

William Mantzoukas and Stephen Hayes

How We Got Here… and Where We’re Going

1960s

This was a time of growing national and local focus on the relationship of poverty and health, which led to the development of new federal programs that included Medicaid, Medicare, Head Start, Neighborhood Legal Services, Food Stamps, and Community Health Centers. The first community health center was founded in 1965 at Columbia Point in Boston.

1970s

Lynn Community Health Center opened its doors in the fall of 1971 as a small storefront mental health and counseling center on Chestnut Street. Three years later we moved to a house on Goldfish Pond and began offering medical services. in 1977 we also became the provider of WIC (Women Infants and Children) services in Lynn.

1980s

New services in the 1980’s included OB/GYN, outreach services in the Lynn schools, and services to Southeast Asian patients. WIC expanded to Salem, Peabody, and Cape Ann.

1990s

In 1993 we moved to our current location at 269 Union Street, Lynn. We continued to experience growth in our third decade, with new services that included HIV/AIDS, School-Based Health Centers, Tobacco Cessation Counseling, Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), Reach Out & Read, and a Walk-in Primary Care Clinic.

2000s

New services in this period included the expansion of School-based Health Centers, Pharmacy Services, a Dental Clinic, an Eye Clinic, Specialty Services, Radiology, and expanded HIV Services. In 2000 we were accredited by The Joint Commission for the first time. We continued to grow. In 2003 we expanded our services by opening two satellite practices in West Lynn. We were among the first community health centers to implement an Electronic Health Record in 2005.

2010s

In 2010 we broke ground on a new three-story expansion facility that has enabled us to increase our capacity to provide needed primary care, behavioral health, and dental services for our community. We launched several new initiatives to improve the quality of care for our patients, including a patient-centered medical home initiative and an integrated care program. In 2012 we were certified by The Joint Commission as a Primary Care Medical Home and by the National Committee for Quality Assurance as a Level 2 Patient Centered Medical Home (we achieved Level 3 in 2017).

2020 and onward

Our COVID-19 response in March 2020 tested all our skills and strengths, as we rapidly pivoted to telewellness and other remote services to keep our community and staff safe. At the same time we maintained in-person operations for conditions and visits that required face-to-face care, and started preparing to test, vaccinate when able, and treat.. By summer 2020 we were testing 300 people per day and in the fall expanded our testing site to accommodate even more. As of February 2022, LCHC has provided over 90,000 COVID tests; and thanks to vaccine clinics both on-site and traveling throughout the community, we have given over 90,000 vaccine doses as well. The pandemic has shown us what we and our community are able to achieve, and taught us valuable lessons for the years ahead.

Learn more about our leadership and all the people who make Lynn Community Health Center so unique.