Our Story
Find the right fit. CHN Health Care Group, Inc. is a premier healthcare staffing agency in Eastern Massachusetts.
What Sets Us Apart?
The CHN difference
Woman and nurse owned and operated
Highly qualified healthcare associates
No contract commitments
Expert, tenured staff
Our History
Community Health Network, Inc. was founded in 1985 in Cambridge, MA by Sarah Hackett, RN, MPH, another nurse and a speech therapist. Over the next few years Sarah became the sole owner. Sarah who had a background as a Director for several Visiting Nurse Agencies saw the need to establish a resource to address the lack of supplemental staffing in the home care and hospice industry. Prior to Community Health Network, there was a reluctance to use staffing agencies because the nurses available were coming from the hospital environment which was not the ideal match for the home care setting. CHN as they became known changed this perception. CHN was the first agency in MA to offer experienced home health and hospice Registered Nurses.
In 1998, Kathleen McDonough, RN, MS who had been working at CHN was made Vice President which allowed Sarah Hackett to leave the company and pursue her dream of working in Haiti. Sarah began working more and more in Haiti establishing another company there called Haiti Projects.
In 2000, Sarah Hackett retired and sold the company to Kathleen McDonough. Kathleen was instrumental in making subsequent changes over the next few years which helped propel the company forward. What was once a fledgling company close to closing its doors was now a thriving business that had created a culture of support and appreciation for its staff that continues to this day. Kathleen regularly asked her staff the hard questions, listened to their concerns and this led to the company’s core values. At the heart of these core values is that CHN always has two customers, our employees and the agencies we service. Our goal is to make every effort to consider and meet the needs of both.
In 2016 Kathleen made the decision to sell the company and retire once it was sold. In keeping with tradition, ideally Kathleen was looking to find another Nurse with a business background who could continue on the mission.
In January 2018, Community Health Network was sold to Michelle Murray RN, BSN. Michelle and Kathleen quickly found they shared a similar approach to identifying quality experienced nurses and physical therapists for their clients while providing their employees optimal work and life style choices. CHN Health Care Group will continue doing business as Community Health Network (CHN) as well as offer additional services for both our client base and employees.