The Massachusetts Executive Office for Health and Human Services (EOHHS)

has selected UMass Memorial Health – Community Healthlink to be the designated Community Behavioral Health Center (CBHC) for two regions in Worcester County: North and Central.



Community Healthlink is one of only 21 organizations the EOHHS designated a CBHC.

“This is a significant development for CHL for a couple of reasons,” said Community Healthlink President Tamara Lundi. “First, it demonstrates the confidence the EOHHS has in CHL to play a key role in their ‘Roadmap for Behavioral Health Reform.’ Second, as a CBHC, we will be able to expand access to care to people in crisis.”

A little over a year ago, the Baker-Polito administration announced a “multi-year blueprint, based on listening sessions and feedback from nearly 700 individuals, families, providers and other stakeholders who identified the need for expanded access to treatment, more effective treatment, and improved health equity.”

As a designated CBHC, Community Healthlink will: 

• Expand evidence-based and evidence-informed treatments to meet individual needs, including interventions and close coordination for individuals with BH needs who are involved with other systems, including the justice system or children in the care and custody of the Commonwealth.
• Provide Adult Mobile Crisis Intervention (AMCI) services.
• Provide Youth Community Crisis (YCC) services.
• Expand walk-in clinic hours.

As part of the contract, the EOHHS is asking all CBHCs to be ready by January 1, 2023.

This designation comes just several weeks after the city of Worcester selected CHL to be its partner agency for its new community crisis co-response model.

“This is a transformational achievement for the community and for us,” said Lundi. “It’s a testimony to the passion and dedication our caregivers have for the people we serve.”