• Address: 150 55th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11220-2508 • Principal Investigator: Sheldon Serkin; Project Director Name: Lena Jaffe • Contact Phone Numbers: P: 718-630-7150; F: 718-630-7295 • Email Address: Sheldon.Serkin@nyulangone.org; Lena.Jaffe@nyulangone.org • Website Address: https://nyulangone.org/locations/family-health-centers-at-nyu-langone • List all grant program funds requested in the application: $2,062,494 • If requesting a funding preference, priority, or special consideration as outlined in Section V. 2. of the program-specific NOFO, indicate here: FHC requests consideration for Funding Preference Qualification 1 and Funding Preference Qualification 2. As a lead provider of care in Brooklyn, Sunset Park Health Council, Inc. (dba Family Health Centers at NYU Langone or FHC), aims to fulfill HRSA’s purpose to expand the public health workforce through the training of new Community Health Workers (CHWs) and health support workers (HSWs) and to extend the knowledge and skills of current CHWs and other HSWs. As one of the largest FQHC networks in the U.S., FHC draws patients from communities throughout Brooklyn (Kings County). The primary service area includes the neighborhoods of Sunset Park, East Flatbush-Flatbush, Park Slope, Red Hook, Brownsville, and Bedford Stuyvesant-Crown Heights (across 14 zip codes) with over 900,000 residents. Sunset Park, East Flatbush-Flatbush, and Bedford Stuyvesant-Crown Heights are HRSA-designated Health Professional Shortage Areas for Primary Care. The Sunset Terrace FHC location, the network hub of co-located primary care including HIV/AIDS primary care as well as behavioral health care services, is located in a Medically Underserved Area. The service area population is comprised of predominantly minority households with large subpopulations of Hispanic/Latino, Afro-Caribbean, Russian, Arabic, and Chinese immigrants. The Sunset Park neighborhood ranks near the bottom (54th) of all NYC neighborhoods
(59 total) in self-reported health status. Social determinants of health (i.e., low educational attainment, unstable housing, poor physical neighborhood conditions, disproportionate incarceration rates, patterns of residential segregation) contribute to high incidence and prevalence of chronic diseases and other poor health outcomes. In the period of performance (09/15/2022 – 09/14/2025) through a network of partnerships including the City University of New York-Kingsborough Community College (educational partner) and 1199 SEIU Training and Education Funds (apprenticeship partner), the full-time Project Director, supported by the Principal Investigator (Sheldon Serkin, Director of Children and Family Services), a full-time Data Collection Coordinator and other program support staff, will accomplish four primary goals to: 1) Expand the public health workforce by training new CHWs with specialized training (so that 75% of participants become newly credentialed CHWs and HSWs) and financial support to offset expenses that would impede success in training; 2) Extend and upskill the public health workforce by enhancing existing curricula to increase the skills and competencies of 15 existing CHWs and HSWs; 3) Increase CHW and HSW employment readiness through field placements and apprenticeships developed in collaboration with a network of partnerships; and 4) Advance health equity and support in underserved communities, including Sunset Park Brooklyn, by increasing the number of CHWs and HSWs that are employed as integral members of integrated care teams. The proposed program will support measurable objectives for: 1) Expansion; 2) Extension/Upskilling; 3) Employment; and 4) Health Equity. The proposed program, with the full support of FHC’s executive leadership, will support the FY2019-2022 HRSA Strategic Plan and HHS priorities for health equity by increasing access to care, improving public health emergency response, and addressing the public health needs of underse
rved communities.