Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending - Construction - The Community Health Centers’ Winooski practice (CHC – Winooski), which currently resides in the O’Brien Community Center owned by the City of Winooski in Vermont, has not only outgrown its space, but is in need of major repairs, expansion, and equipment upgrades. Winooski is one of the most densely populated cities in New England. With a total population of 8,100, it is also Vermont’s most culturally and socioeconomically diverse city; about 17.5% of the population speak a language other than English at home, and 19.1% of the population lives below the poverty level, with 31.8% living below 200% of poverty (U.S. Census, 2022: ACS 5-Year Estimates). The practice does not convey the respect, dignity, and quality any patient accessing care should expect from a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC); rather the City of Winooski deserves a facility with modernized equipment that meets or exceeds health equity standards upheld by other practices. Additionally, CHC – Winooski shares the small space with a dental practice we recently acquired. We were proud to integrate the dental practice to offer our FQHC’s many benefits to their 5,000 patients, but this has created an even greater need for improvements to the practice. The renovation and expansion of CHC – Winooski is part of a much larger redevelopment project that our community partners, the City of Winooski, and the Champlain Housing Trust, have organized for the O’Brien Community Center. The entire redevelopment project will increase the building’s space by more than 50% to support the expansion of multiple social service and nonprofit tenants (including CHC) and add to the array of services available to the community while ensuring long-term sustainability of the property. CHC will use the Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending funds specifically on moveable equipment within 10 dental operatories, 15 medical exam rooms, three mental health counseling rooms, as well as general office furniture and network equipment including computers and printers. CHC – Winooski’s renovated and expanded space will greatly improve access to linguistically and culturally appropriate medical, dental, psychiatry, and behavioral health services to an ever-expanding community.
