On Friday, October 25, the Joint Committee for Children’s Healthcare in Everett (JCCHCE) will be hosting a special gala event at the Royal Sonesta to celebrate 25 years of keeping children and families healthy in Everett and more than 70 other communities.
The non-profit organization will be joined by clients, parents, educators, health and wellness experts, health and civic organizations, community members and national, state and local leaders, funders, staff, volunteers and many more to celebrate the work that has been done, but also to inspire to strive for a brighter, healthier future for all.
The JCCHCE has directly served and supported more than 225,000 people to gain access to Massachusetts Health Care. Below is a testimony from one individual that will forever be grateful for the work and commitment of the JCCHCE:
“We are writing to thank and support the JCCHCE. They were there for us in a true medical crisis. Because of the JCCHCE, my significant other can still walk. Today, that may sound dramatic, but it is absolutely true.
Like many men and women, his job did not offer the benefit of insurance. He did not have insurance when he was working as a landscaper. As he pulled a particularly difficult weed from the ground, one day, he felt a ping in his back. Within two minutes, he was flat on his back, unable to walk. He was rushed to the emergency- room where he had an x-ray and was given pain medicine. However, this injury proved to be much more serious. It rendered him unable to walk at all, and the pain was unbearable for a man who never complained about pain. Clearly, he needed a specialist. A friend of mine, who worked for a very kind doctor, was willing to see him without insurance. He was now in a wheelchair I borrowed. This specialist consulted with two others, and they concurred that the original x-ray was misread. He needed immediate surgery, or he would never walk again. Additionally, the nerve pain would continue indefinitely due to the nerve damage. Thank God for friends and that kind doctor who was willing to see him without insurance.
That is when I turned to another very good friend, Jackie Coogan, founder of the JCCHCE, who immediately connected us with Nicole Graffam, Executive Director of the JCCHCE. Inevitably, due to the previous and this present injury, Nicole’s astute understanding of insurances, found that he was eligible for MASS Health all along. He could get this surgery immediately. We are forever grateful to Nicole for navigating the insurance system. We were running out of time.
To this day, I catch my breath when I remember the doctor’s words, “he may never walk again without immediate surgery.” Also, there would be a lasting weakness and pain with the nerve damage.
He was days from never walking again. This story is a tribute to the JCCHCE, and the people who work so diligently for its success. We thank our dear friend, Jackie Coogan, who connected us with this organization which she founded and Nicole Graffam, Executive Director. We are forever grateful for their assistance. Please continue with us to support their mission and their outstanding, important assistance, work and mission.”
Together, there is much to celebrate and with everyone’s help and tax-exempt donation, JCCHCE will be able to achieve so much more in the years to come.
25 Years… and the Journey Continues…
For more information about the Gala, please contact the JCCHCE at 617-394-2414 or by visiting 484 Broadway, Everett, MA, rm. 2. Please see Nicole Graffam and/or Anna Fabrizio for additional information. You can also email Executive Director, Nicole Graffam at [email protected] and/or go to our website at: www.jcchce.org.
City of Everett
Office of the Mayor
Carlo DeMaria, Jr.
484 Broadway
EVERETT, MASSACHUSETTS 02149
PHONE 617-394-2270 Fax 617-381-1150