About Us: History

Founded in 1980, Child Health Services was the first non-profit community agency to provide primary care and related health services to low-income children and families in the Greater Manchester area. While the rest of the United States was still working to establish well-child clinics as places where children would be assured of receiving health care, CHS's founding director, Selma Deitch, MD, MPH, was leading the development of a comprehensive set of services for low income children in a comprehensive Patient-Centered Medical Home model – a model which continues today in Manchester and beyond.

Over the past 30 years, the agency has provided primary medical care to more than 30,000 of Manchester's most vulnerable children. The agency is also home to “Special Medical Programs at Child Health Services,” an array of programs that serve over 1200 children with special medical needs. Nearly 15 years ago CHS developed a separate Teen Health Clinic to provide adolescents with the same comprehensive care but in a clinic setting that is more accessible and appropriate for teens and young adults. The Teen Health Clinic opened its doors in 1998 and has since served more than 3300 patients.

The agency has also developed innovative programs including the New Hampshire Health Law Collaborative, Manchester Youth Theater and Media Smart (now MediaPowerYouth). CHS collaborates extensively with other community service and health care providers and is a training site for medical and social work students from colleges and universities across the state.