Kevin's Community Center

Senator Lieberman honored Kevin's Community Center (KCC) in Newtown, CT, and its founder, Dr. Michael Taweh as "Joe's Heroes." KCC free medical clinic was founded in 2002, inspired by the brief life of 3 year old Kevin Taweh, son of Dr. and Mrs. Z. Michael Taweh of Newtown, CT. Under the leadership of Dr. Taweh and with a ground-swell of community and professional support including cooperation of state and local government, Kevin's Community Center opened its free clinic in August 2003. This instantly made health care accessible to those in the Greater Danbury area who, until that time, had no choice but to let longstanding health issues go untreated. The mission of KCC is "to provide free health care for area residents over the age of 16 who are uninsured or underinsured and who have limited financial resources."

KCC helps relieve the burden of the health care crisis, providing the uninsured the care they need before they have to resort to urgent care. Services include primary care, prescription medications and free specialty care offered through a network of referrals that includes over 100 specialists from the greater Danbury area and the Danbury Office of Physician Services who donate their time. Since opening in 2005, KCC has served over 1000 patient visits and provided more than $500,000 of free medical services. In addition, laboratory and radiological services are offered free through the generous support of Danbury Hospital and Housatonic Valley Radiological Associates. The clinic is staffed by volunteer doctors, nurses and a corps of very talented and dedicated volunteers consisting of clinical nurse practitioners, nurses, and non clinic volunteers who support the operations of the clinic. In 2006, KCC became an affiliate of the United Way of Northern Fairfield County.

The diverse population of North Fairfield County includes residents who need the services of a free medical clinic. Income eligibility guidelines are tied to the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). Approximately 800 families, 3,800 adults, in Newtown alone, have no health care coverage at all, and it is expected that the need for healthcare services such as KCC provides will only increase. Health care costs continue to rise causing more people to be uninsured each year, as Newtown's population has increased by an estimated 7% from 2000-2004 according to the U.S. Census Bureau statistics.

The Connecticut Hospital Association reports that emergency room visits in Connecticut have risen nearly every year since the mid 1990s, from 1.1 million in 1996 to nearly 1.4 million in 2003. The Newtown Department of Social Services has experienced increased demand for its resources and confirms that "individuals under financial stress will forgo the expense of health insurance in favor of paying other living expenses". KCC provides a local facility to accept referrals from Social Services, which is a "major improvement in health care access to the uninsured and low income residents".

The Town of Newtown and the Newtown Health District have provided free, limited facility clinic space and utilities since Kevin's Community Center opened it's doors. KCC is committed to raising support funds through long term strategies.

KCC's vision and long term goal is to provide expanded services and build an independent facility thereby increasing the capacity to see more patients in the surrounding towns, and establish a comprehensive health care facility. Extended services will include educational programs, professional dialogue and community outreach, supporting and meeting the growing need of providing health care to the people in the Greater Danbury region who cannot afford such care. Expectations are that this would include residents of Newtown, Bethel, Monroe and Brookfield, Connecticut.