The legacy of Terry Reilly began and grew in response to a need found in a small group of children and their families in the Seasonal Farmworker population of Nampa, Idaho. Many of these farmworkers lived in sub-standard conditions and had limited access to healthcare and other social services.
Terry Reilly was sent to Nampa by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise to help provide services to the farmworker community. Working out of a large renovated house which he named the Gente House (House of the People), Terry began to research and address some of the needs of the community. Gente House quickly became a neighborhood center for children, providing a tutoring program created by Terry himself. Terry began to notice that many of these children who came for tutoring seemed to have chronic conditions that were being ignored. He filled the need by convincing a local pediatrician named Dr. Clarence McIntyre to volunteer his services and open a clinic in the back of Gente House. Dr. McIntyre agreed and the clinic was opened on May 1st, 1971.
With a growing demand for services, a federal grant allowed for the creation of Community Health Clinics, Inc.. Terry, his wife Rosie, and several staff members soon purchased space in the Square Deal Grocery Store building, which remains the site of the original Nampa clinic.
Because of Terry’s tireless work to raise awareness of the need for access to quality health care in rural Idaho, additional Federal Qualified Health Care (FQHC) grants allowed for the creation of clinics all over Ada, Canyon, and Owyhee counties. In Terry’s honor, the name of the organization was changed to Terry Reilly Health Services. Today, the mission of Terry Reilly remains the same, operating medical, dental, and behavioral health clinics for everyone throughout the Treasure Valley.
