Lamprey Celebrates 1-year anniversary speaker series--expands access beyond clinical care

Lamprey Health Care is proud to celebrate the one-year anniversary of its Community Matters Speaker Series, a free, community-centered initiative designed to bring important health and wellness topics to the forefront while creating safe, welcoming spaces for connection, learning, and dialogue.

        EVENTS HUB www.lampreyhealth.org/events


Launched to support whole-person health founded on connection and belonging, Community Matters has engaged community members across the region through interactive workshops, film screenings, and discussions focused on issues that impact everyday life and overall health.

Over the past year, some topics covered were anxiety and mental health, the connection between movement and well-being, neurodiversity and how different brains experience the world, and empathy in dementia care through storytelling and shared experience.


Each session is intentionally designed to go beyond awareness. Through facilitated conversations, small-group discussion and workshop activities, participants explore what these topics look like in real life while building understanding, compassion, and practical tools they can bring back to their families, workplaces, and communities.


“Community Matters reflects who we are at Lamprey Health Care,” said Sue Durkin, co-CEO. “We believe health happens everywhere — not just in exam rooms. By creating spaces where people feel seen, heard, and supported, we are advancing our mission to improve the health of our communities and remove barriers to care. These conversations are essential to whole health and to building stronger, more connected communities.”
 
The importance of these conversations is rooted in Lamprey Health Care’s broader commitment to community health. As a nonprofit health center serving thousands of individuals and families, the organization emphasizes prevention, education, and access as critical drivers of better health outcomes.  Programs like Community Matters extend that work beyond clinical settings, addressing the social, emotional, and behavioral factors that shape overall well-being.


By bringing topics such as substance use disorder, neurodiversity, and loneliness into open, community-based settings, the series helps reduce stigma and fosters environments where individuals feel safe asking questions, sharing experiences, and supporting one another. These safe spaces are especially important in addressing complex health challenges and ensuring that everyone feels included in the conversation.
“Health is not one-dimensional,” Durkin added. “When we talk about mental health, movement, empathy, or how people experience the world differently, we are strengthening the foundation of whole-person care. That is how we create lasting impact.”


In its first year, Community Matters has remained free and open to the public, reinforcing Lamprey Health Care’s mission to ensure access to resources for all individuals, regardless of their circumstances.
As the program enters its second year, Lamprey Health Care is inviting local businesses and community partners to support and sustain this growing initiative through sponsorship opportunities. Sponsorships help expand the reach of the program, bring in expert facilitators, and ensure that these important conversations continue to be accessible to everyone in the community.


Community members are encouraged to attend upcoming events and experience the series firsthand. More information, including event listings and details, can be found on the Lamprey Health Care website’s new EVENTS HUB www.lampreyhealth.org/events
 
 
About Lamprey Health Care
Lamprey Health Care is a nonprofit, community-based health system providing primary medical, dental, behavioral health, and social support services to individuals and families across more than 40 New Hampshire communities. Caring for ~17,500 patients annually, their services include primary care, behavioral health, women’s health, mobile health services, chronic care management, substance use disorder services, family planning, teen clinics, hospital services, integrated care programs, lab services, pharmacy services and more. For more than 55 years, Lamprey has been committed to advancing health equity and ensuring access to high-quality care for all.
www.lampreyhealth.org
 
 
Lamprey Health Care Media Contact:
Danielle Tjalsma, Director of Communications
978-204-3500
dtjalsma@LampreyHealth.org