NUHEALTH SYSTEM CELEBRATES OPENING OF NEW ROOSEVELT/FREEPORT FAMILY HEALTH CENTER, LOCATED AT 380 NASSAU ROAD, ROOSEVELT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 27, 2010
PRESS CONTACT:
Shelley Lotenberg
shelley@numc.edu
516-572-6055
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
HEALTH CENTER IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LI FEDERALLY QUALIFIED HEALTH CENTER, INC., INSTITUTE FOR HEALTHCARE DISPARITIES, NUCARE AND MANAGED CARE OFFICES TO SERVE AS CENTERPIECE OF THE NUHEALTH’S EFFORTS TO REFORM AND REVITALIZE HEALTH INITIATIVES IN IMPROVING ACCESS AND PROVIDING QUALITY CARE TO THE COMMUNITIES SURROUNDING ROOSEVELT
SUPERB, CENTRAL LOCATION IN NEWLY RENOVATED 24,000 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING IN AN EXCEPTIONAL SETTING, WITH STRONG FLOW FOR PATIENTS AND PROVIDERS, AND EASILY ACCESSIBLE BY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, WILL TRANSFORM THE NUHEALTH SYSTEM’S APPROACH TO COMMUNITY HEALTH CARE
ENSURED EFFECTIVE M/WBE PARTICIPATION THROUGH EXTENSIVE OUTREACH PROGRAM THAT HAS DOUBLED THE VALUE OF MINORITY/ WOMEN BUSINESS PARTICIPATION AND INCREASED THE NUMBER OF FIRMS
PARTICIPATING AT VARIOUS LEVELS OF THE ROOSEVELT PROJECT
East Meadow, NY……..Joined by numerous state, county, and town officials, NuHealth’s board of directors, community leaders and staff, Arthur A. Gianelli, President/CEO of the NuHealth System, in conjunction with Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray, announced the opening of the Roosevelt/Freeport Family Health Center, located on the NuHealth System’s own property, in a superb centrally located building, at 380 Nassau Road in Roosevelt.
“This is a wonderful and exciting day for a community that has been waiting almost three decades for this day, as we announce the opening of our new Roosevelt/Freeport health center in partnership with the LI Federally Qualified Health Center, Inc., serving as a centerpiece of our efforts to reform and revitalize health services on behalf of the communities surrounding 380 Nassau Road and as a catalyst for economic development in Roosevelt,” said Gianelli. “Our Family Health Center, our Institute for Healthcare Disparities and our Managed Care offices, will serve to improve access and to provide quality health care services to the residents, in an easily accessible location, while transforming the NuHealth System’s approach to community health care.”
Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray, while touring the health center said: “Today is a great day for the community of Roosevelt with the opening of the beautiful Roosevelt/Freeport Family Health Center. I want to thank the Nassau Health Care Corporation for partnering with the town,” said Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray. “We oversaw the construction of an impressive office building and the corporation is bringing needed medical services to this community. This facility complements all of our other projects designed to revitalize this downtown business district. Today marks an important date in Roosevelt’s renaissance.”
Martin Payson, chair of the NuHealth board of directors, congratulated the staff on the opening of such a superb center: “I am enthusiastic and excited about the opening of this spectacular building that will transform our approach to community health, all for the benefit of our patients by giving them access to services in superior accommodations.”
Executive Vice President for Ambulatory Services for the NuHealth System, James Senterfitt said: “Dr. Laurie Ward, NuHealth’s chair of the department of community medicine and I are pleased to see the completion of this dynamic new community health resource. We appreciate the perseverance of the health center staff and most importantly, the community leaders and patients who have supported this vital health center over the years.”
For a number of years, NuHealth officials had worked with Reverend Reginald Tuggle, president of the Memorial Economic Development Corporation and obtained his support in fulfilling NuHealth’s goal to provide a new state-of-the-art family health center for the benefit of the residents of the Roosevelt and Freeport communities: “The entire Roosevelt and Freeport communities will be well served by this new state of the art community health clinic. It promises to bring improved health care by providing quick and professional services for everyone regardless of income. The MEDC is happy to have played a role in its coming to Roosevelt.” said Rev. Tuggle.
The property is an approximately 70,560 square foot lot with a 24,000 square foot, three story building.
The building will house NuHealth’s new Roosevelt/Freeport Family Health Center, which will operate under a license pursuant to Article 28 of the New York State Health Law (approximately 9,000 square feet); a Nassau County Women’s, Infant’s and Children’s program (approximately 2000 square feet); and offices comprising a total of 8,000 square feet to include NuCare, the Institute for Healthcare Disparities and the Memorial Economic Development Corporation offices. The office space and the patient flow were designed to meet the criteria for a private practice model, not the traditional “clinic” model, with an easy way-finding to avoid confusion and improve patient flow.
Family Health Centers: The NuHealth Centers located in Roosevelt/Freeport, Elmont, Hempstead and Westbury/New Cassel provide quality primary care, delivered by compassionate physicians and nurses who work to keep patients and their family healthy. Services such as adult medicine, pediatrics, women’s health services, prenatal care assistance, family planning and laboratory services are offered along with consultations with specialists in areas such as diabetes, podiatry vision, preventive care and wellness, with access to patient’s own doctor.
Institute for Healthcare Disparities: Formed with the singular objective of bringing quality healthcare services to minority populations in the medically underserved communities of Nassau County, the Institute brings its programs and services through faith-based organizations and within the family health centers, with a focus on the diseases and issues that impact minorities at alarmingly disproportionate percentages. The Institutes’ programs center around prenatal care, cardiovascular disease, cancer screening and management, diabetes, HIV infection/AIDS and immunizations through increased awareness, education, prevention and treatment to close the disparity gap that exists between minorities and the general population.
NuCare: The NuCare program provides access to comprehensive medical healthcare for the uninsured residents at the various Family Health Centers with the goal of improving care, accomplishing better health outcomes and managing costs for the uninsured Nassau population. The program provides medical homes for every uninsured patient by bringing physician-based medical services, prevention, education, chronic disease prevention and management, concurrent healthy lifestyle program participation, and the involvement of community resources to address the myriad of challenges facing low-income persons in Nassau County.
“The opening of this health center has been thirty years in the making. It is located in an area of great need for affordable health services and it is a pleasure to say that the facility is one of the most attractive and well planned I have seen in all my years in the health care field. Along with the tremendous improvement in the corporation’s quality of care in recent years, this will provide the community with services it can be proud of secure in the knowledge of its excellence,” added Rose Guercia, MD, a member of the NuHealth board of directors.
In affirming the NuHealth System’s commitment to Minority/Women Business Enterprise participation in the NHCC capital program, Gianelli indicated that the association between the NuHealth System and the Gilbane Building Company had resulted in a concrete manifestation of its commitment to minority and women business owners in the Roosevelt Health Center construction project, resulting in substantial minority and women business owner participation, ensuring M/WBE participation through its effective outreach program that has doubled the value of M/WBE participation and increased the number of firms participating at various levels of the Roosevelt project
Gianelli concluded by stating: “The Roosevelt/Freeport Family Health Center has long been in need of replacement and we are thrilled to open this center today. This investment in the health care needs of the community is an essential effort to address the disparities in healthcare affecting minority residents of Nassau County.”
ABOUT NUHEALTH:
NuHealth is a Long Island health care organization delivering essential medical care and disease and lifestyle management to everyone at every stage of life. Also known as Nassau Health Care Corporation, NuHealth is a public benefit corporation managing the operations of Nassau University Medical Center, A. Holly Patterson Extended Care and a network of Family Health Centers that bring primary and specialty care out into the community. By emphasizing wellness, cultural sensitivity and collaborative efforts with the North Shore-LIJ Health System, NuHealth is working to make good care more affordable and easier to access.
For more information about NuHealth or its Centers of Care, visit www.nuhealth.net.
