The past few years have been turbulent ones in the field of public health. The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 put severe strain on healthcare systems around the globe, and the aftershocks are still felt roughly 4 years later. At ABCD’s Health Services department, administrators, clinicians, and support staff are working diligently to repair the damage left behind by the pandemic, address current disparities, and plan for the future.
ABCD Health Services operates throughout Greater Boston, offering sexual and reproductive health resources, trainings for clinicians and providers, and family planning workshops. The department also supports a network of partner health centers that work closely with ABCD to address more local and community-based needs and disparities.
One such partner is the recently opened Codman Square Health Center at Randolph High School. Having opened its doors in December 2025, the health center offers primary care, behavioral health counseling, health education, and more to students and community members. “Randolph is a bit of a medical desert. Now people who don’t have the means to travel have somewhere to go,” says Director of ABCD Health Services Maureen Scott.
Beyond Randolph, Health Services’ community prevention programs served over 300 youth in Boston and Chelsea in 2025 alone. In addition, ABCD’s testandgo™ kiosk service — offering free reproductive and sexual health products — has served over 2,500 people since October 2024 and was the first service of its kind in Massachusetts. In 2025, ABCD Health Services helped 18,982 people in Greater Boston with sexual and reproductive health, family planning, and more.
Health Services also operates a robust training institute that allows clinicians and healthcare professionals to stay up to date and informed on topics such as sexual and reproductive health, substance use, and family planning. The department has been able to maintain and expand upon this resource thanks in no small part to being named a Title X grant recipient for 2026 — a designation ABCD has held since 1973. This grant, which is distributed by the US Department of Health and Human Services, represents a large portion of the funding Health Services receives. Deputy Director of Health Services Ellisa Dockstader underscores the significance of receiving the grant: “Receiving Title X funding in March set the tone for the rest of the year.”
Despite all these programs and services, Scott and her team are aware that there’s a lot of work to be done, both on the ground and in the realm of branding and name recognition. “We want people to associate the name ‘ABCD’ with Health Services to the same extent they do with
housing, early education, fuel, and so on,” says Scott. Part of that work entails continuing to broaden Health Services’ reach and scope. The department is currently working to increase its capabilities in the mental health and substance use spaces and is also planning on adding a clinical social worker to its staff.
More immediately, Scott and her team are making a concerted effort to get out into the community and reestablish partnerships that were put on hold by the pandemic. “Youth in particular are asking for more community resources,” Scott says. “We’re making a big effort to create new partnerships with school-based health centers so we can address their needs.”
Ultimately, like all of ABCD’s work, Health Services is focused on community impact. “You could live right next door to a health center and not know what it offers, and we want to change that” says Scott. “We’re not waiting for people to come to us.”
Learn more about ABCD Health Services at bostonabcd.org/health.