NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — In this pandemic, it has never been more important for low-income neighborhoods to have access to good health care.

At the same time, Fair Haven Community Health Care (FHCHC) is earning national recognition for the work it is doing.

It is one of nearly 1,400 federally-qualified health centers. To get their funding, those centers are all required to send in a copious amount of information every year.

“The government crunches those numbers, and then in the summer, they come out and say these are the health centers that, out of the 1,400 nationwide, have done the best,” explained FHCHC CEO Dr. Suzanne Lagarde.

This summer, the center was recognized as being in the top 10 percentile for being a quality leader, and the top two percent in handling of behavioral health by the Health Resources & Services Administration.

The organization began in 1971, seeing just