EBNHC Receives $12 Million Federal Stimulus Grant to Jumpstart Maverick Sq. Project
The grant will provide critical funding to allow EBNHC to construct a new facility in Maverick Square, East Boston, which will create new clinical space for primary care, vision services, and dental care, all of which are growing and have been operating in cramped space in the main health center building. The new facility will also include administrative space for the organization.
Jack Cradock, President and CEO of EBNHC, traveled to Washington DC last week to meet with President Obama and officially accept the award. “This grant will enable us to bring care to even more patients in our community in those clinical areas that are so very important for public health,” said Cradock. “This new space will allow our center to continue to address the oral health crisis that threatens the well-being of so many young people and to ensure that we can provide primary care to our community, which is the cornerstone of good health and disease prevention.”
The federal government is developing a new model of care for those served by government health programs, known as the patient-centered medical home (PCMH), which is designed to promote improved access to family-centered care.
“We believe that being awarded this grant is a validation of EBNHC’s particular approach to community-based care,” said Cradock. “In many ways, we embody the medical home model that is seen as the future of health care in America, and we are grateful to the Obama Administration for recognizing that and for supporting our mission and our community.”
Construction on the $20 million, 49,000 square-foot Maverick facility is expected to begin early in 2010. Consistent with the intent of the stimulus program, these funds will result in the creation of over 150 construction jobs and over 50 permanent health care jobs. The new space will also provide a home for EBNHC’s Education & Training Institute, which develops and nurtures health care careers.
The new facility will anchor the revitalized Maverick Square and is expected to generate new investment in the area. It will be designed to complement the area’s architecture and will join a renovated MBTA Blue Line station and other recent improvements in the square. The building will be LEED certified and fully energy efficient, making it well aligned with another key goal of the ARRA initiative, greater energy efficiency.
The East Boston Neighborhood Health Center has been a vital part of its community for nearly 40 years, providing easily accessible, high-quality health care to all who live and work in East Boston and the surrounding communities of Chelsea, Revere, Everett, and Winthrop. EBNHC handles 300,000 patient visits per year—more than any other ambulatory care center in New England.
