HealthReach Announces New Board Members for 2025

WATERVILLE – Connie Coggins, President & CEO of HealthReach Community Health Centers, is pleased to announce that two new members have joined the organization’s Governing Board of Directors.

Paula Callan

Paula Callan, of Oakland, Maine, is a retired educator and administrator. After a 10-year high school special education career, she transitioned into the role of assistant principal, and then principal, where she stayed for the remainder of her impressive 40-year career in education. Callan’s unique perspective will be an incredible asset to the HealthReach Board. The HealthReach team looks forward to what she will be able to accomplish alongside her new colleagues.

Buffy Higgins

Buffy Higgins, of Fairfield, Maine, has held many roles in healthcare operations and finance. She serves as Director of Operations at Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan. Previously, she held a variety of positions at MaineGeneral Health, and worked closely with former HealthReach board member Terry Brann and MaineGeneral’s finance team. HealthReach is thrilled to welcome Buffy to the Board of Directors, and looks forward to the positive impact she will make for the organization.

Paula Callan and Buffy Higgins will join Board officers: Jim Higgins, Chair; Jack Ducharme, Vice Chair; and John Opperman, Secretary & Treasurer; as well as Board members: Jenny Boyden, Michelle Kelley, Juliana Richard, Susan Tedrick, Carolyn Tranten, and Allen Wicken. HealthReach appreciates the volunteer efforts of its Board members, who contribute to the leadership, direction, and success of the nonprofit. Without them, HealthReach would not be able to serve the people of rural Maine as effectively as it does with local, high-quality, and affordable healthcare.

HealthReach Community Health Centers — headquartered in Waterville, Maine — is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating twelve family medical practices with the mission of serving the otherwise medically underserved. In 2025, HealthReach proudly marks 50 years of delivering high-quality healthcare to the rural communities of Central and Western Maine since its founding in 1975! HealthReach services include general primary and preventative healthcare, including behavioral, substance use disorder, dental, and podiatric care services. To ensure access for everyone, HealthReach accepts Medicare, MaineCare, and major insurance providers, and there are no eligibility requirements to access care through HealthReach; all are welcome. An Affordable Care Program is available to both uninsured and underinsured people. Assistance is available for applications to programs that help with your healthcare and medication costs, including enrollment support for Maine’s Health Insurance Marketplace.

The above is issued in furtherance of HealthReach Community Health Centers’ federally funded health center project. In 2025, HealthReach is projected to receive $4,436,654 in federal assistance, which is estimated as constituting 12% of project costs. Of total project costs for 2025, HealthReach estimates 88% to be financed with non-governmental sources.

The contents above are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the official views of or an endorsement by, HRSA, DHHS, or the U.S. Government.

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