04/06/2026
Women's History Month may be over, but we have one leader left to celebrate. Jean Hunt made invaluable contributions to the health center movement in Massachusetts.
As a child, Jean could run down the street to see the family doctor, a dermatologist who offered primary care to her Mission Hill neighborhood. But by the late 1960s, fewer doctors were providing services from their homes, making care less accessible for those far from medical facilities. Jean moved to Neponset, a part of Dorchester geographically isolated by a new expressway. Without a car, reaching a doctor required three exchanges on public transit.
In 1971, Jean joined her neighbors in advocating for more accessible health services in the community. She was working as a nurse and felt driven to care for others. In addition to delivering quality patient care, she advanced the wellbeing of her community through the health center movement.
Jean, her neighbors, and the Daughters of Charity at Carney Hospital worked together to found Daniel Driscoll-Neponset Health Center. Committed to the health center mission of providing accessible, affordable care, Jean stayed involved in the center’s work as a longtime board member and board president. She also supported the formation of other Boston health centers through advocacy and cross-center collaboration.
When she learned of the Mass League’s work to bring health centers together, she encouraged her husband Jim to join the organization, thinking his conciliatory nature would benefit the movement. He hesitated to leave a stable city job for a fledgling non-profit, but Jean assured him that as a nurse, she could support them both if times got tough. Jim went on to serve over 40 years as Mass League CEO.
Jean notes that most of the early health center advocates and board members she worked with were women determined to deliver better care for their neighborhood. She is especially grateful for the work of the Daughters of Charity, who opened five community health centers in Dorchester, four of which are still open today, and encouraged her to return to school for her two master’s degrees.
Jean’s extensive record of service to the city of Boston includes years working as a nurse practitioner at Mass General, planning neighborhood events as part of the Dorchester Committee, providing educational tours with Boston By Foot, and helping people with disabilities access comprehensive support as a board member of WORK Inc. Today, she continues to be involved in the community as a board member of the Dorchester Historical Society and member of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UMass Boston
At the Mass League, Jean Hunt holds a special place in our hearts for her dedicated service to her community and to the Massachusetts health center movement.
