Susan Pham At Open Cities Health Center

Susan Pham had run a successful solo chiropractic practice for 20 years before joining the staff at Open Cities Health Center. After Thanksgiving, Pham moved to the Open Cities’ new location on Rice Street. “I like to serve more of the community, especially the underserved – so that is why I wanted to join Open Cities Health Center. The most valuable thing I saw was a lot of people from the underserved population – the disadvantaged, whether it was from their inability to pay, or lack of access to comprehensive health care. People come in and they just need care and we serve.”

Another thing that attracted Pham to Open Cities was their scope of care. Pham is a chiropractor, acupuncturist and clinical nutritionist. Open Cities is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) for underserved people. In addition to Pham’s services the center also offers medical, dental, optometry and behavioral health care. Many of their clients are from a largely Asian, specifically Hmong population. Pham says, “If they need something we have the services.”

Pham loves working at Open Cities, “We don’t have to base our care on patient insurance. They have good quality care regardless of having insurance or not.” Open Cities has a sliding fee scale with subsidies available. “A lot of people really appreciate it, it is affordable and working.”

Perhaps the best thing is that Pham’s clients can reap the, “Good benefits of regular health care. Don’t wait until it is too late to come for care. Go the dentist twice per year. Get regular medical check ups. And check the health of the spine. If we can’t help you we might be able to refer you to the proper person. We want you to have a long healthy life.”

Pham was originally just a chiropractor. Her family has a very strong medical and pharmacist background. “On my mom’s side it was acupuncture and I was able to observe her since I was a little girl. Chiropractic care uses hands to ease the pain of people. I wanted to do something naturally to reduce the pain and combine with medication because it is more convenient and covered.” So far her work at Open Cities has helped her reach her goals of helping more people.