With $2.85 million in financing from the Primary Care Development Corp. in Rye Brook, Hudson River HealthCare (HRHC), based in Peekskill, has acquired prime downtown Monticello property to expand primary care and dental services to low-income patients in Monticello and surrounding communities in Sullivan County.
Drawing more than 10,000 patient visits per year and employing 32 full time health workers, the health center is now a major anchor helping to revitalize the village”™s struggling downtown area.
HRHC began leasing the 10,000-square-foot property on Lakewood Avenue in 2007 and providing primary care to a diverse community in need: More than one-third of the population is below the poverty line and rates of diabetes, asthma, and heart disease are well above the statewide average. The financing enabled HRHC to purchase and renovate 23 Lakewood Ave. and add 3,100 square feet of capacity at an adjoining Lakewood Avenue property to provide essential dental services.
“This community has long needed additional access to quality health care,” said Anne Nolon, president and CEO of Hudson River HealthCare. “With low-cost financing from PCDC, we are able to establish a major health center in Monticello and provide necessary primary and dental care to thousands of patients in the community.”
Monticello and the surrounding communities are struggling economically and are in desperate need of quality health care, added U.S. Rep.Maurice Hinchey, who secured a federal grant in the amount of $200,000 to help purchase equipment for the new center. “I am delighted that through the partnership between Hudson River HealthCare, PCDC, and the federal government, we will help to establish a major health center that will improve the health of families and bring vital economic activity to downtown Monticello.”
PCDC provided the $2.85 million loan through its $40 million New Markets Loan Program, which offers below-market, long-term fixed rate loans to expand primary care in low-income communities. The 25-year loan carries a fixed interest rate of 4.77 percent, and the loan is structured so that up to 26 percent of the principal amount may be forgiven. Operated in conjunction with HSBC Bank, the landmark investment in primary care is made possible by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s New Markets Tax Credits Program.
