Thursday, January 2, 2025
1/2/2025
Abstract Situated in NYC’s dense urban environment, the community health center to be renovated is located at 1776 Clay Avenue, Bronx, NY 10457. Within the Bronx, there are numerous health centers that offer primary care services in a non-hospital setting, yet there still remains significant unmet need, signified by the disproportionally high rate of unmanaged chronic conditions and preventable hospitalizations among Promesa’s target population. The proposed project will reconfigure and expand the primary care space at Promesa’s Clay Avenue Health Center (CAHC) to increase access to primary care services and strengthen the integration of primary care and mental health services. Currently, CAHC’s primary care services occupy the same hallway as its NYS OASAS-licensed ambulatory methadone treatment program. Clients accessing methadone treatment line up in this hallway for their medication, which leads to frequent interruption in primary care because of noise and informal knocks on the existing three exam room doors. Further, the primary care waiting room is at the end of this hallway, creating the perception that CAHC’s primary care is only for people with substance abuse disorders. The location of the methadone program with primary care also creates a particular barrier to providing primary care to children and adolescents, as parents are not comfortable mixing their children with the substance use population. Finally, medical providers are frustrated with the work environment, which lacks easy accessible team huddle space. The proposed renovation will relocate the primary care certified space to an entire wing on the opposite side of the building, locating primary care in the same suite at its mental health program. The renovated wing will include a dedicated reception area and waiting room for 20 people, a staff conference room that can also be used for patient education, a dedicated Depression Nurse Care Manager space, lab and triage rooms , six primary care exam rooms, and five mental health counseling rooms. The proposed renovation will expand Promesa’s integrated primary care and mental health services capacity by: 1) increasing the number of primary care exam rooms from three to six and adding an additional counseling room to the four existing rooms in the mental health area; 2) improving access to primary care services by locating them in a dedicated space that is separate from its methadone services; and 3) co-locating and strengthening the integration of primary care and mental health services through greater informal and formal care team interactions and warm-hand offs between mental health and primary care providers. The improved staff interaction will further enhance integrated care, which is already facilitated through shared patient information using Promesa’s unified electronic medical record (EHR) system, NextGen. The co-location of services will also minimize the stigma of accessing mental health services, as patients will access primary care and mental health in the same area. The proposed project includes renovation of an existing health center, which will be completed by June 30, 2023. The total estimated cost for design, major renovation of the facility and equipment costs associated with the building’s reconfiguration is $2,500,000. Promesa is requesting gap funding of $825,000, with the balance being paid through the New York State Health Care Facility Transformation Program.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).