Jack Cradock
In 1999 if you asked Jack Cradock if the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center (EBNHC) would be building a monumental project in Maverick Square his answer most likely would have been ‘no’.
At that time, the EBNHC had filed for bankruptcy, scrapped several expansion plans, was forced to sell Winthrop Hospital, laid off 350 employees and cut 20 percent from its
Audrey Savikas
budget.
But it was Cradock’s determination for better health care and resolve to bring new and innovative programs here to Eastie and the surrounding communities that turned an ailing health center into a national model and one of state’s finest.
For these reasons EBNHC President Jack Cradock is the East Boston Times 2011 Man of the Year.
Under Cradock EBNHC has become one of the largest and most comprehensive health centers in the nation. The health center accommodates over 350,000 visits by more than 50,000 individuals. EBNHC delivers 1,000 annually and its Pediatrics Department cares for almost every child living in East Boston.
Cradock first joined the EBNHC in 1978 first as Administrative Director and then as President and CEO.
In his three decades at the Health Center, Cradock goal has always been to bring high-quality, affordable health care to thousands of local residents without regard to insurance status, income, language, culture, or social circumstances. At EBNHC Cradock has organized and delivered innovative care models to address the issues facing vulnerable populations and improve patient outcomes in Eastie.
During Cradock’s tenure EBNHC has developed a number of innovative research, service, and training programs that have led to the health center’s recognition as a leader in community-based services. These include the East Boston Elder Service Plan, a community-based, comprehensive health care program for frail elders that is part of the national Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE); Let’s Get Movin’, a program for at-risk children centered on exercise, nutritional education, and medical monitoring; The collaborative Education and Training Institute, providing present and future employees with skill training and career paths. Cradock’s senior leadership has been instrumental to the development and success of these initiatives.
However, it was the recent announcement that EBNHC would expand with a monumental project that will forever transform Maverick Square that has been one of Cradock’s crowning achievements.
It was announced in December 2010 that President Barack Obama had chosen the EBNHC as one of only 85 health centers nationwide as the recipient of $12 million in stimulus money to build a brand new facility in Maverick Square.
The new, 49,000 square-foot ambulatory care building, which is being funded in part with $12 million of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) money, will allow EBNHC to create new, critically-needed capacity to serve patients in need of primary care, vision services, and dental care. The EBNHC project was the first ARRA-funded project to break ground in the United States.
Once completed, the building will bear Jack Cradock’s name.