Press Releases

LOWELL, MA – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee, announced $567,400 in federal teaching health center funding for the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center. This award comes from the Department of Health and Human Services through the Affordable Care Act Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) program, also known as the T91 program. 

“As the first-in-the-nation accredited teaching health center, the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center has continued to provide critical health services to its patients while also training new generations of physicians who uniquely understand the health care needs of traditionally underserved communities. This federal funding is critical to the facility’s ongoing efforts, which have proven so invaluable already. As one of GLFHC’s biggest fans, I will continue to be an advocate for additional teaching health center funding and for all of our community health facilities,” said Congresswoman Trahan.

“Greater Lawrence Family Health Center is honored to accept this funding award which will also allow us to focus on the future expansion of our nationally recognized Lawrence Family Medicine Residency program over the next four years.  The Lawrence Family Medicine Residency was founded in 1994, and is regarded as the first family medicine residency owned and operated by a Community Health Center.  This funding combined with opportunity for expansion, made possible in large part by the ongoing support from Congresswoman Trahan and her team, will help us continue to meet the high demand for training a diverse primary care workforce that can address the increase in health care disparities facing our nation,” said Dr. Guy Fish, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center. 

As a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee, Trahan has been a staunch advocate for the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education program. In June, Trahan cosponsored legislation, the Doctors of Community (DOC) Act, which would permanently authorize the THCGME program, provide strengthened annual funding for the fiscal years 2024-2033, and increase the number of residency slots available each year.

The THCGME program provides funding to 56 teaching health centers like GLFHC, the first teaching health center in the nation and sole facility of its kind in Massachusetts, and enables qualified students to provide health services to roughly a million patients in communities nationwide. The funding allows for more than 700 medical residents to be trained to serve in marginalized rural and urban communities as primary care physicians.

To further support the work of Community Health Centers in the Third District, Trahan announced more than $2.7 million of federal American Rescue Plan funding was being awarded to facilities in Lawrence, Lowell, and Fitchburg. GLFHC received $1,118,970 of that funding.

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