Fiscal Year 2023 Capital Assistance for Hurricane Response and Recovery Efforts (CARE) - Organizational overview, the community to be served, and the target population. Since 1979, Premier Community HealthCare Group, Inc. (Premier) has been designated as a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) providing comprehensive primary, preventive and supplemental health services to medically underserved and uninsured populations. The mission of Premier is to provide accessible healthcare services for all. Premier’s total service area includes adjacent Pasco and Hernando Counties on the nature coast of Florida, located north of Tampa and bordered by the Gulf of Mexico, and spread across 1,216 square miles. West Pasco, where the proposed major construction project will be located, represents the county’s largest concentration of semi-urban development and population along the U.S. 19 coastal corridor. The entire Pasco County area, especially the coastal corridor was impacted by Hurricane Ian in 2022 and declared a FEMA Designated Disaster and Emergency Declaration and Impacted Area. Premier’s proposed Capital Assistance for Disaster Response and Recovery (CARE) project will support the critical role that health centers play in responding and recovering from natural disasters. The target population and service area for the proposed project includes medically underserved, vulnerable, and uninsured persons in Zephyrhills, Florida. Special populations (migratory and seasonal agricultural workers and their families, public housing residents, and homeless persons) will be served. The population targeted experiences low educational attainment, high unemployment, and low per capita income. How the proposed project will address the need for comprehensive primary health care services in the community and target population. The proposed CARE project will renovate an existing 3,000 square foot health center facility and will address the acute needs in the community, as identified in recent community health needs assessments, for expanded access to comprehensive primary, preventive, and supplemental care. According to the UDS Mapper assessment only 30% of low-income persons in the proposed CARE project area are receiving FQHC services, with 47,514 unserved by a health center program. The proposed renovation construction project addresses increasing capacity to respond from future emergencies and/or disasters and supports the continuity of access to high quality primary care services for underserved and vulnerable populations. The project represents an opportunity to expand access to health care services to a larger pool of individuals in a medically underserved area. The proposed service delivery sites and locations; and services to be provided. The proposed Capital Assistance for Hurricane Recovery and Response Efforts (CARE) project service delivery site, known as the “East Pasco” site, will renovate an existing facility at 37920 Medical Arts Court, Zephyrhills, FL. Services provided will include an increased capacity to respond and/or recovery from future emergencies/disasters while ensuring continuity of care through the provision of comprehensive primary and supplementary health care services for children and adults.
