Launched in 2005, WellesleyWeston Magazine is a quarterly publication tailored to Wellesley and Weston residents and edited to enrich the experience of living in two of Massachusetts' most desirable communities.
Issue link: https://wellesleywestonmagazine.epubxp.com/i/210435
"self-sustaining primary healthcare" COURTESY OF CONTAINERS 2 CLINICS good works clinic is staffed by local personnel who have been trained to operate The typical C2C clinic offers primary health care for entire communities. them now and into the future. This clinic is in addition to a flagship location in Port-au-Prince which C2C opened in 2010 after the devas- terms of being spoken down to, not told what their diagnosis is, and tating earthquake in that nation. receiving shoddy medical care, that goes to my core. I say we can do "By creating self-sustaining primary health care, we're providing lifesaving care," says Sheehan. "Our plan is for the long-term. While the better. We can provide dignified, high-quality health care where it's needed most." philanthropy dollar is great, communities are more empowered when Sheehan's interest in medicine is linked to her diagnosis of juvenile there's a partnership and a conversation about working together to rheumatoid arthritis at the age of ten. "I watched my worried parents rebuild the systems that will benefit them in the long-term." seek medical care for a somewhat rare disease at the time," she recalls. She grew up to become a physician's assistant and public C2C as "president, founder, board member, advocate, and fundraiser." health practitioner, working in emergency rooms in New York City Well-known Boston philanthropists such as Jack Connors and Gerald We l l e s l e y We s t o n M a g a z i n e | w i n t e r 2 0 1 3 / 2 0 1 4 The Wellesley resident and mother of two describes her role at and in the rural south for a decade. "I witnessed how the poor suf- Sheehan provided initial funding for the organization's latest project fered from lack of access to medical care, either due to cost or lack of in Haiti. services," she says. But what drives Sheehan is a passion for basic human dignity. "This issue is in my DNA—I feel that health is a human right and everyone should have access to primary health care," she emphasizes. "When I Sheehan had her "a-ha" moment for C2C five years ago, when she real- talk to women who tell me of being treated poorly by the doctor, in 160 Getting to Yes ized that merging surplus used shipping containers with gently used