Management and clinic workers of nonprofits Acacia Community and La Casa de Salud gathered within the Bronx on Feb. 19 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Clay Avenue Well being Heart’s $2.6 million renovated facility.
The renovation funding got here from a New York State Facility Transformation grant. The Acacia Community management utilized for the grant in 2017 with the purpose of elevated capability in thoughts.
“We all know that so many people lack entry to high quality healthcare,” stated Lauren Mendenhall, govt director at La Casa de Salud. “With 10 examination rooms [previously], we had been in a position to serve about 2,500 shoppers. With the addition, [and] with this full intestine renovation of virtually 4,000 sq. ft, we’ve been ready so as to add three examination rooms, and that has elevated our capability by 21 %, so we’ll have the ability to serve shut to three,000 shoppers for nearly 22,000 visits.”
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Began by Lorraine Montenegro, a Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx, La Casa de Salud has been serving the neighborhood since 1998 as the first care arm of the Acacia Community. She co-founded United Bronx Dad and mom in 1965 — a social service company that supplied instructional companies, supportive housing permitting moms in restoration to reside with their kids, and companies to older South Bronx residents. When she needed to construct a federally certified healthcare heart for United Bronx Dad and mom, Montenegro went to Raul Russi, present president of the Acacia Community, for assist.
“We have now to ensure we rejoice historical past, we don’t rewrite historical past, and we all know how all of us ended up right here,” stated Lymaris Albors, CEO of the Acacia Community. “Due to Raul for being a visionary and unimaginable gratitude [to] Lorraine Montenegro for having the braveness again then to battle for main care companies in the neighborhood.”
The Clay Avenue Well being Heart, positioned at 1776 Clay Ave., is considered one of 5 federally certified healthcare facilities La Casa de Salud has within the Bronx to assist underserved communities. The well being heart gives main care and dental, behavioral well being, and dependancy and substance use companies. These are very important to Bronx residents, who face well being disparities at disproportionately increased charges out of the 5 boroughs: In 2023, Bronx residents had the best charges of overdose deaths with 78 resident deaths per 100,000 residents.
“This renovated house right here is a chance to do much more to reaffirm our dedication to our shoppers, to their households, to lifting up our neighborhood and saying that we’ll not settle for the Bronx being first in every thing difficult, however moderately, we’ll lead in every thing good,” stated Vanessa L. Gibson, Bronx borough president. “We are going to lead in relation to saving lives, giving shoppers hope, giving them the wraparound companies.”
Adrian Lopez is grateful for the alternatives the well being heart has supplied to assist him get clear. He has referred to as the middle dwelling for greater than two years as a member of the residential remedy program, Promesa-Methadone to Abstinence Restoration (MTAR), which gives males over the age of 18 remedy for opioid use dysfunction.
The renovations remind Lopez to remain centered, he stated: “to deal with my life and are available again to my household once more.”
William Schouten, a 61-year-old affected person, echoed Lopez’s gratitude. “I’m grateful for being right here as a result of I got here right here and I used to be damaged. I reside upstairs within the MTAR unit,” he stated. “I come right here for all my medical advantages, all my medical wants. The workers right here is wonderful.”
At his age, Schouten stated he is able to retire and obtain his pension after working his total life. “I plan to do what I’ve to do and transfer out and be a productive member of society,” he stated. “I look to assist folks now. That’s what they instructed me upstairs; ‘Don’t look down. The one time you look down on any individual is whenever you’re serving to them up.’”
