CEO Lori Abrams Berry to retire in 2017

LCHC has experienced exponential growth in the 20 years that Lori Berry has been CEO.

Reverend Jane Gould, President of the Lynn Community Health Center Board of Directors, announced this week that Lori Abrams Berry, health center CEO for the past 20 years, will be retiring effective October 2017.

Lori said that while she is looking forward to her retirement, she is also sad about leaving her health center colleagues, the wonderful community of Lynn, and the “best job I have ever had.”

“It has been an honor and a privilege to work with such a talented and committed group of people!” she said.  “We have developed an amazing patient-centered team based system of care and I am so proud of what we have all accomplished together in assuring the highest quality of care for everyone in our community, regardless of ability to pay.”

Lori has been CEO during a period of exponential growth for the health center, most visibly with the addition of the new 55,000 square foot building on Union Street in 2012.  Consider: in 1996 LCHC had a budget of $6 million, a staff of 175, and provide 73,000 visits for 12,000 patients.  In 2016 the health center has a budget of $78 million, a staff of 600, and provides more than 250,000 visits for 39,000 patients.

Lynn Community Health Center (see www.lchcnet.org) has long served as a primary source of health care services since its beginnings as a storefront mental health counseling center in 1971. It is now the largest provider of primary health care and behavioral health services in Lynn.

The health center’s extraordinary team has developed many new and innovative programs and services over the years designed to meet the health needs of our diverse community.  These include an Urgent Care Center, a unique Integrated Care model for Primary care, Behavioral Health and Addictions Progams, Office Based Opioid Treatment, Patient Centered Medical Home recognition, Joint Commission Accreditation, Radiology and Mammography, a comprehensive dispensing and Clinical Pharmacy program, a system of 13 School-Based Health Centers, a Dental Clinic, Eye Care Services, two primary care practice sites in Market Square, and a number of creative community outreach and population health programs to serve patients with a variety of chronic illnesses.

The Health Center’s Board of Directors has initiated a search for a new CEO.  There will be more information about the search as the Board moves forward.

Looking ahead, both the Board and Lori are confident that it will be business as usual at Lynn Community Health Center.   “Lori has built an exceptionally strong and committed leadership team with an outstanding breadth and depth of experience,” says Rev. Gould.  “Lynn Community Health Center is well positioned to continue the excellence and innovative energy that it has demonstrated over the years.  Lynn Community Health Center looks forward to a vibrant future!