COMMUNITY HEALTH & WELLNESS PARTNERS PRESIDENT/CEO HONORED FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AND LEADERSHIP

Tara D. Bair Honored with Dolores J. Lindsay Award for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership

Community Health & Wellness Partners (CHWP) is proud to announce that its President and CEO, Tara D. Bair, has been awarded the prestigious Dolores J. Lindsay Award for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership by the Ohio Association of Community Health Centers (OACHC).

About the Award: The Dolores J. Lindsay Award is bestowed annually to a community health center executive who has made significant contributions to the

community health center movement in Ohio. This award honors the legacy of Dolores J. Lindsay, who founded Ohio's first health center, The HealthCare Connection (formerly the Lincoln Heights Health Center), in Cincinnati in 1967. Under her management, The HealthCare Connection expanded from a four-bedroom apartment to include both medical and dental services and opened two new stand-alone centers in Mt. Healthy and Forest Park. Mrs. Lindsay also pioneered efforts to increase services for individuals with behavioral health and medical co-morbidities through partnerships with local behavioral health agencies.

​Community Health Centers: Community Health Centers, including Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Look-Alikes (LALs), play a crucial role in providing essential health services to nearly 1 million patients annually across Ohio. These centers operate at over 500 locations in 76 of Ohio’s 88 counties, offering care to the uninsured and underinsured. Community Health Centers have become the largest health care system in the nation and are considered the highest-rated programs within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Tara D. Bair's Achievements: Tara D. Bair, who graduated Magna Cum Laude from Urbana University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management, has over 25 years of experience in the healthcare field. Since joining CHWP, she has been instrumental in its development, planning, and securing essential grant funding. Under her guidance, CHWP has grown to serve over 13,000 patients and hosts over 48,000 patient visits annually.

Key Achievements:

• Founder: Along with a Team of 17 Board of Directors and 11 staff members, Tara led to the development of the first community health center in Logan County, later expanding into Champaign County, with a one-stop shop primary care practice focusing on the whole-person. Community Health & Wellness Partners opened in West Liberty in 2014, and in 2022, opened in Urbana, OH
• Expansion: In 2016, Tara successfully negotiated a merger with a 50-year-old community practice, establishing CHWP as the largest primary health care system in Champaign and Logan Counties, Ohio. The organization has expanded from two locations in 2014 to five locations today.
• Innovative Programs: Over the years, Tara has led her Team to introduce various programs that remove barriers and meet the needs of the patients. Examples would include a robust substance use treatment program, where CHWP was the first health center in the community to offer a structured program of medication, assisting with behavioral health and social services; a diabetes education program accredited by the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) and certified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), significantly improving patients' A1C levels. This program has been pivotal in providing quality education services and improving health outcomes for diabetes patients; opened an in-house pharmacy program that serves Champaign and Logan County residents with free medication delivery.
• Population Health Department: She established a department responsible for coordination, case management, disease management, and transitional care programs. This department has been crucial in advancing CHWP's mission of providing innovative care that improves patient outcomes.
• Accreditations: Under Tara's leadership, CHWP has earned numerous accreditations and recognitions, including from The Joint Commission and Community Health Center Quality Recognition Badges from the Health Resources and Services Administration. These accolades underscore the high standards of care and service excellence maintained by CHWP.
• School-Based Health Centers: As of March 2025, CHWP operates five school-based health centers at Benjamin Logan Schools, Graham Local Schools, Indian Lake Schools, Riverside Local Schools, and West Liberty-Salem Schools. These centers provide primary care and behavioral health services to students, addressing increasing needs for anxiety, depression, and ADHD support.
• Community Health Centers: Additionally, CHWP operates four community health centers located in Bellefontaine, Russells Point, Urbana, West Liberty, ensuring comprehensive healthcare access across the region.

Remarkable Growth: Community Health & Wellness Partners (CHWP) has shown remarkable growth over the past decade. According to UDS reports, CHWP served 2,531 patients in 2014 and 12,278 patients in 2024, marking a 385% increase in patient numbers over the last 10 years. This growth is a testament to Tara's visionary leadership and commitment to expanding healthcare access.

Julie DiRossi King, President and CEO of OACHC, presented the award at OACHC's 2025 Spring Conference on April 14th with these remarks: “Tara, you have made us (OACHC) better. You have been a great example of the community health movement.”

Tara, who served as the OACHC board chair from April 2023 to April 2025, is often heard emphasizing, “Meeting patients where they are and providing care is our approach to serving our community. We work hard to remove barriers - making care accessible to anyone and everyone.” This sentiment reflects her unwavering dedication to improving healthcare accessibility and her relentless efforts to enhance patient care through innovative programs and expansions. Her leadership has been pivotal in transforming CHWP into a cornerstone of community health in Champaign, Logan, and surrounding counties.

About Community Health & Wellness Partners: Community Health & Wellness Partners provides comprehensive, high-quality healthcare services to the residents of Champaign, Logan and surrounding counties. With a focus on integrated care, CHWP offers a range of services including primary care, behavioral health, chronic care management, medication-assisted treatment, wellness, pharmacy, nutrition, and social services support. CHWP serves insured, uninsured, underinsured, and self-pay patients, and accepts all insurances, ensuring that healthcare is accessible to everyone in the community. For more information, visit CHWPcares.org.

The health center is a grantee of funding awards supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Further, this health center is a Health Center Program grantee under 42 U.S.C.254b and deemed a Public Health Service employee under 42 U.S.C. 233(g)-(n) and a Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) entity. ​