Whittier Street Health Center, a community health center with a mission to serve as a center of excellence that provides high quality and accessible health care and social services that achieve health equity, social justice, and the economic well-being of a diverse patient population, had a special guest on its COVID vaccination roster when Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders visited the Center on Sept. 9. The Secretary received a Moderna booster at Whittier’s 1290 Tremont Street address in Roxbury before meeting with Frederica M. Williams, president and CEO of Whittier Street Health Center, as well as meeting with and thanking the staff of Whittier Street Health Center. “It was an honor to greet Secretary Sudders at our walk-in COVID vaccine clinic,” said Williams, noting that Whittier Street Health Center offers COVID-19 vaccinations for its patients and Boston residents ages 5 years and older. “The importance of being immunized against the virus cannot be overstated - it is a message that the Secretary has worked hard to deliver.” “Secretary Sudders has been a champion of Whittier Street Health Center and of all community health centers, and we are so grateful to her for her support, enthusiasm, and energy,” Williams added. Sudders has led the Commonwealth’s COVID-19 Response Command Center since March of 2020. Under her leadership, Massachusetts is distinguished as the having the most robust in-state testing capacity in the nation, a nation leading contact tracing program, and a nationally acclaimed data reporting system. Since joining Governor Baker’s cabinet in January 2015, Sudders has advanced health policy and human services to meet the needs of Massachusetts residents, including restructuring MassHealth into a population-based health coverage system, reforming the child welfare system, combatting the opioid epidemic, addressing barriers in behavioral health care, and strengthening community-based services.  Sudders chairs the Massachusetts Health Connector Board, the Autism Commission, and the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund. She co-chairs the Governor’s Interagency Council on Housing and Homelessness and the Governor’s Council to Address Optimal Aging. She is a member of the Health Policy Commission and the Governor’s Council to Address Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence. About Whittier Street Health Center Whittier Street Health Center is an independently licensed community health care center with a mission of providing high quality, reliable and accessible primary healthcare for diverse populations while promoting wellness and eliminating health and social disparities. A champion of equitable access to high quality, patient-focused care, social justice and economic equity, Whittier Street Health Center is accredited by The Joint Commission (TJC), certified by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Patient-Centered Medical Home, and recognized by the NCQA for its Behavioral Health Integration. For press inquiries, please contact Nicole Joy Hales at 617-947-7983 or [email protected]. Source: Whittier Street Health Center