Thanks to a New Access Point grant of $650,000, the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center in Newburgh has announced it will be expanding both its sites and services in Orange County in coming months.
The center has been awarded the funds from the Federal Health Resources and Services Administration and is developing new sites at 127 Main St. in Highland Falls and at 290 Broadway in Newburgh. These will allow the agency to provide much-needed quality health care for residents who have inadequate access because of financial, geographical or other limitations.
Ken Mackintosh, chief advancement officer of the agency, noted the fund-seeking was a long but rewarding process.
“It”™s taken us three years to actually secure the funding,” he said. “This increases our baseline grant from the federal government by about a third.”
The Highland Falls site, expected to open in November, will offer comprehensive care for the whole family touching on pediatrics, internal medicine, OB/GYN and behavioral health. The 2,300-square-foot facility will have full- and part-time physicians, nurses and support staff seeing patients in six exam rooms. The site was chosen for its centralized location, as well as easy accessibility by foot or public transportation.
“Because of the limited availability of medicine down there, people often have to drive 20 to 30 miles to see a doctor,” Mackintosh said of Highland Falls, a federally designated Health Professional Shortage Area that neighbors West Point.
The new site in Newburgh will primarily serve the homeless population through coordinated, specialized care.
“The homeless are a diverse and complicated population to serve,” Mackintosh said.
The Department of Social Services recently reported there are more than 1,500 homeless individuals in Orange County. Without access to support such as primary-care medical assistance, there has been a high volume of emergency-room visits and inpatient stays.
Mackintosh said the new facility, which may be served by a mobile unit until its expected opening in January (or perhaps sooner), will target both those identified as homeless and those considered at risk.
The new site, a 1,750-square-foot health center with three exam rooms staffed by a family nurse practitioner, licensed practical nurse and patient services representative, will be near the Neighborhood Resource Center, at 280 Broadway, which houses a number of organizations that offer services to the county”™s homeless population.
The move will add to the staff of the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center, Mackintosh said.
“We will be hiring providers for both locations.”
In a press release, U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey stated, “I am delighted that the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center has received this important federal funding that will enable the organization to expand its operations in Orange County. Everyone deserves access to quality health care services regardless of their economic status and The Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center provides just that for thousands of Orange County residents who otherwise would forgo getting treatment and preventative care that is necessary to keep them healthy.”
