Courtesy of NYCEDC
The project will increase the facility’s examination rooms by 50 percent.
By Forum Staff
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz and City Councilman Donovan Richards (D-Laurelton) joined the City Economic Development Corporation on Tuesday to announce the expansion of the Joseph P. Addabbo Family Health Center in Arverne.
The project promises to increase the facility’s examination rooms by 50 percent, according to EDC, and bring new medical services to the federally designated Medically Underserved Area of Far Rockaway. The Addabbo Center and EDC recently closed on the sale of a long-vacant City-owned parcel adjacent to the current facility, where more than 20,000 square-feet of new healthcare space will be built.
“The new expansion of the Joseph P. Addabbo Family Health Center will help fill the service gap incurred with the 2012 shutdown of Peninsula Hospital Center and the recent closures of several other local healthcare facilities,” said Katz, who allocated $3 million from her Fiscal Year 2017 discretionary funds toward this capital project. “The expansion will enable the Center to better meet the growing medical needs of the community, especially those who are uninsured and underserved.”
According to EDC, the project will increase the facility’s exam-room capacity from 41 to 62 and expand its offering of core medical services, which include: internal medicine/family practice; obstetrics/gynecology (OB/GYN); pediatrics and dental. Additionally, the facility will provide physical therapy, a new offering for Addabbo centers.
Based on projections, EDC noted, the expansion will increase annual patient intake by more than 24,000 new visitors. Across its six sites, the Addabbo Family Health Center received more than 219,000 patient visits in 2015, according to EDC.
The expansion of the Addabbo Family Health Center is expected to create approximately 97 construction jobs and 31 new permanent jobs, consisting of physicians, nursing, administrative and support staff. The health center, an 1199SEIU unionized facility, currently employs 80 percent of its workforce from the local community. The AFHC has indicated that it is committed to targeting permanent jobs for hire through HireNYC, a City program that connects low-income NYC residents to job opportunities through the administration’s economic development projects.
“The Joseph P. Addabbo Family Health Center is one of the few bright spots in health care on the Rockaway peninsula, serving low-income working families and immigrants,” Richards said. “This new expansion will bring more specialized medical services right here for local residents, while also adding nearly 100 construction jobs and more than 30 permanent jobs in the center. More healthcare services is the number one ask for many Rockaway residents, so I’d like to thank Borough President Katz, EDC President and CEO Torres-Springer and Addabbo’s CEO Dr. Marjorie Hill, for working with my office to deliver on this crucial addition to our community.”
The AFHC is a Federally Qualified Community Health Center that serves Far Rockaway, Jamaica, South Jamaica, Rochdale, Baisley Park, South Ozone Park, and Red Hook, Brooklyn.
“In spite of evening, Saturday, and even Sunday hours, our clinics remain full,” added Dr. Marjorie Hill, Addabbo CEO. “This much needed expansion, including 21 new exam rooms, will allow us to meet the growing unmet need exacerbated in part by Superstorm Sandy.”
