Bronx, NY Elected officials, community leaders, and health advocates came together on November 17 to celebrate the groundbreaking of Bronx Community Health Network’s (BCHN) new health and wellness diagnostic and treatment center at 3763 White Plains Rd.
Renovations are starting soon to transform the location’s previously unoccupied two-story building into an outpatient medical, dental and behavioral health center with associated support spaces. Located in an area that the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) has categorized as both a Medically Underserved Area (MUA) and Health Provider Shortage Area (HPSA), the new facility will fill existing gaps by providing access to affordable, quality, comprehensive primary medical and related healthcare services for medically underserved and uninsured local residents, regardless of their ability to pay.
BCHN secured a long-term lease for the two-story, 11,000 s/f commercial building, initiating a major capital improvement project to transform the space into a new Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). The project is set to be completed within six months, with occupancy and the commencement of patient visits scheduled for summer 2024.
BCHN has partnered with Denham Wolf Real Estate Services (Denham Wolf), a trusted real estate advisor serving the nonprofit community across New York City and beyond, to bring this vision to life. Denham Wolf has supported BCHN in assembling a team of consultants, negotiating contracts, and helping to facilitate the NYS Certificate of Need process for BHCN’s new health and wellness center. The planned renovations have been designed by DIGroupArchitecture, a minority-owned architecture and design firm, and an AIA NJ 2023 Firm of the Year, and NYC-based New York Engineers.
The new health center’s service area will cover four zip codes, which currently span a total population of 263,436 persons, predominantly Black and Hispanic. According to data from the Health Resources & Services Administration’s Uniform Data System, approximately 38% of the expected patient population is designated low-income, and about 56.2% is medically underserved. BCHN’s new health and wellness diagnostic and treatment center will serve approximately 6,700 patients in its first year, expanding to nearly 11,000 new patients by the third year of operation. It will also act as a source of employment for the community, with approximately 30 full-time jobs.
“In 2022, over a third of Americans had someone in their family who postponed healthcare because they couldn’t afford it. In the wealthiest country in the world, that is unacceptable,” said Congressman Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D. (NY-16). “Community health centers provide invaluable services to people who would otherwise have to choose between healthcare and other necessities. I am excited to see the difference that the Bronx Community Health Network’s new health and wellness center will make. Healthcare should be accessible and affordable for everyone, and this center will bring us closer to that goal.”
The center will offer comprehensive services, including medical, behavioral, and oral health care. Complementary health promotion, education, outreach, social support, care coordination and chronic disease management will also be provided along with pharmacy services. All patient services will be strategically located across the ground and second floor of the building, with a multipurpose space and conference rooms for community programming on the lower level.
“It’s been very exciting working with the team at BCHN to help them not only construct their first stand-alone health center but also to support their growth as an organization,” said Jessica Stander, Director of Design at Denham Wolf. “We look forward to seeing more of BCHN’s projects come to fruition as the organization continues to provide quality healthcare to underserved areas of the Bronx.”
The groundbreaking included speeches from elected officials and community leaders as well as photo opportunities of the project team and event attendees.
Federal and city officials, health advocates, and community leaders, including U.S. Representative Jamaal Bowman and NYC council member Kevin Riley were in attendance.
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