Partners HealthCare and the Kraft Center for Community Health Provide Support to Inspiring Physicians and Nurses

Pictured here congratulating Kraft Fellows and Practitioners at the first annual Kraft Center for Community Health Leadership Symposium is Robert Kraft.

Where we live can have a profound impact on our lives, in particular our health. That realization is one reason why Robert Kraft and his family made a generous gift to Partners HealthCare to create the Kraft Center for Community Health Leadership.

The Kraft Center provides training, mentorship, and other resources aimed at empowering promising young physicians and nurse practitioners who are helping to improve the health of our communities and bring quality, affordable health care to everyone—no matter where they live or their circumstances.

The Kraft Center recently celebrated its first class of graduates. Maggie Beiser, NP; Kate Hobbs-Knutson, MD; Mark Viron, MD; and Genevieve Daftary, MD, are some examples of Kraft Center’s outstanding caregivers and new graduates. While in the two-year program, each of them practiced in local community health centers while also working on a project to address a specific need in the community. They shared their work at the first annual Kraft Symposium, demonstrating the impact providers can have when they have extra time and support.

Maggie Beiser is a nurse practitioner at the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. Serving this population can prove challenging. Health care isn’t first on the list of priorities for those in need of food and shelter. But Maggie perseveres and provides quality care to each patient she sees. While working at Health Care for the Homeless, Maggie has noticed that a disproportionate number of her patients suffer from Hepatitis C. Hepatitis C can be fatal if left untreated, but also can be cured if properly addressed.

“There is such a huge gap in knowledge among our patients about what they can do about Hepatitis C, and it seemed like closing the gap could have an impact,” says Maggie.

For the past few years, Maggie has worked to reorganize the treatment of Hepatitis C among Boston’s homeless population. Through patient education, consistent treatment, and Maggie’s commitment, the number of Health Care for the Homeless clients suffering from Hepatitis C has begun to drop. Maggie will continue her work at Health Care for the Homeless and continue to work towards her goal of successfully treating Hepatitis C in her patients.

Like Maggie, Kate Hobbs-Knutson, MD, sought to address the needs of a specific population during her time at South Boston Health Center. Kate is a child psychiatrist and is invested in improving mental health care for kids.

“A lot of kids carry serious emotional wounds from repeated traumatic experiences,” says Kate. “And there is a direct correlation between adverse childhood experiences and chronic disease.”

While at South Boston Community Health Center, Kate engaged other physicians and encouraged them to incorporate mental health screenings into their regular check-ups. That way—if anything came up in the screening—the health center team could collaborate to provide the patient with the best resources. This is especially important for children, as addressing the issue head on gives them greater chances for good mental health throughout their lives.

Similar to Kate, Mark Viron, MD, identified the need to coordinate services provided for both the physical and mental health of his patients. Having worked at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center for some time now, Mark was eager to explore ways to treat people for their mental and physical health issues in the same place.

“Patients at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center have complex medical and psychosocial needs,” says Mark. “The Kraft Center has given me the tools and resources necessary to provide better care for this population.”

People with serious mental illness in the United States die on average 25 years earlier than those without mental health problems. The support of the Kraft Program allowed Mark to think creatively about ways to coordinate his patients care and extend their life expectancy. Mark will continue his work at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center and work to ensure that his patients’ physical and psychosocial needs are being met.

Genevieve Daftary, MD, has also worked on coordination of care at the Codman Square Health Center, but with a slightly different focus. A pediatrician by training, Dr. Daftary is experienced in working with children and has found a new access point to engage kids in their own care. During her time as a Kraft Fellow, Dr. Daftary worked with students at the Codman Square Academy Charter Public School (attached to the health center) to come up with a new way to track students’ healthy weights and BMIs.

“As a doctor, you know how to raise the questions about housing and food security,” says Dr. Daftary. “But Codman Square really empowers you as a clinician to ask them, because the resources you need to help your patients are right there.”

Dr. Daftary has connected with her patients on a variety of levels and has committed herself not only to the health of her patients, but to their overall well being too. Dr. Daftary will continue her work at the Codman Square Health Center and now serves as the Medical Director of Pediatrics.

Working closely with the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, the Kraft Center helps to develop the careers and leadership of physicians and nurses practitioners who are committed to the health of our communities.

“The work that Maggie, Kate, and Mark have done is exactly what we hoped might happen when developing the Kraft Program,” says Matt Fishman, Partners HealthCare Vice President for Community Health. “Their extensive understanding of the patient and community needs helps better inform all of the work that we do, which helps us provide the best and most appropriate care to all those we serve.”