PLATTEKILL – Cornerstone Family Healthcare, a Federally Qualified Health Center located in Orange County, broke ground today with a ceremony marking the start of construction on a new 3,500 square foot health center facility in Plattekill. The $1.5 million construction project has secured $1 million in federal grant funding awarded as part of the Affordable Care Act’s support for expansion of the nation’s community health centers. The project is a boon for the community that will expand access to health care and increase services for uninsured and underinsured residents, as well as create jobs.
The new health center site is located at 24 Old Firehouse Road and will provide an inviting, patient-centered medical home for the residents of Plattekill and surrounding rural communities. According to Cornerstone’s projections, the new health center will provide capacity to treat nearly 3,500 patients by year three. The finished facility is slated to open in March of 2017.
“The construction of this new health center marks Cornerstone’s ninth service site and demonstrates our continued commitment to bringing access to healthcare services to communities where there is a great need,” says Cornerstone’s President and CEO Linda Muller. “Cornerstone has spent years studying the Plattekill community and the barriers to maintaining continuity of care. This new site will help to eliminate those barriers providing access to the increasing number of families in need of health care.”
The groundbreaking ceremony performed at the site of the new building joined together officials from Cornerstone Family Healthcare, elected officials from local, state and federal government, community stakeholders and residents. Congressman Chris Gibson from New York’s 19th congressional district in which the health center is being constructed said in his remarks, “Federally Qualified Health Centers, such as the one proposed in the Town of Plattekill, empower patients to take an active role in their care and help to eliminate the barriers that can prevent low-income and uninsured patients from taking responsibility for their own health and well-being. I am pleased to support this project.”
Ulster County Executive Michael Hein remarked, “It is my goal to make Ulster County the healthiest county in New York State. Regular and consistent access to primary care is essential to achieving optimal health status. I am confident Cornerstone Family Healthcare will help to alleviate the gaps in care many in Plattekill and the surrounding area experience. I am proud to partner with Cornerstone and enthusiastically support this endeavor.”
Joining Cornerstone’s President and CEO Linda Muller, Representative Gibson and County Executive Hein with ceremonial shovels were Town of Plattekill Supervisor, Joe Croce; chairman of the board of Cornerstone Family Healthcare and long-time supporter of health care for underserved populations Marcel Martino; and president and CEO of Ulster County Chamber of Commerce Ward Todd.
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