THE CARNEY HOSPITAL AND THE ROLE OF HOSPITALS IN THE COMMUNITY
When my grandfather arrived from Venezuela in 1985 and joined us settling in Dorchester, finding a Spanish-speaking doctor was among the many challenges. This was a greater challenge in the 80s (even in Boston) than it is today, but the Carney Hospital was there, and my grandfather had a dependable doctor a few blocks away. Since then, for nearly forty years, the Carney has served my family. Even for those who saw a physician elsewhere, the Carney was there if a rush to the emergency room was ever needed. As a child my appointments were at the Neponset Health Center where I came to know not only my doctor but the nurses and staff well. When I got sick with mononucleosis at the age of seven the clinic became my second home. I refer here not only to the frequency of my visits but the comfort and reassurance my family was given here by the medical staff that had known me since infancy. After college, when I had to decide on a regular primary care physician, the Carney seemed an ...