Funding Will Support Development of New and Renovated Community Health Centers
PHOENIX - (April 26, 2022) - In partnership with the Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers (AACHC), Maricopa County has awarded $21.4 million to five local community health centers for capital improvements and renovations that aim to improve access to services for residents with low income, who are medically underserved or who may be uninsured.
“No matter their income level or zip code, every Maricopa County resident deserves access to quality health care in the communities where they live,” said Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates, District 3. “We are committed to improving access to these critically important services.”
The funding will support these projects:
- Wesley Community & Health Centers will receive $7.5 million to support the development of a new “Central City” location to replace their original clinic at 1300 S. 10th Street near downtown Phoenix, which they acquired in 1950. The new location will allow the Wesley clinic to see an additional 3,500 to 7,000 patients each year.
- Terros Health will receive $5.5 million for renovations at the Community Health Center at 4909 E. McDowell Road, in Phoenix. The renovation will include additional patient care rooms and waiting room enhancements that will help facilitate integrated care and expand access to primary care, opioid use treatment, HIV testing and prevention, and youth services for the 9,000 patients served as this location.
- Neighborhood Outreach Access to Health (NOAH) will receive $4.1 million in funding to support the development of a large, new comprehensive Community Health Center at 8705 E. McDowell Road, in Scottsdale, just off the 101 Loop. The new location will serve as the new Cholla Health Center and allow for the consolidation of three existing sites by providing the space and operational efficiencies needed to continue to provide quality health care to over 16,000 individuals with low incomes in Scottsdale, east Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa.
- NATIVE HEALTH will receive $3.68 million to renovate a vacant business suite at their Southern Business Center at 777 W. Southern Avenue in Mesa. The renovation will facilitate the expansion of dental, optometry, podiatry, pharmacy, and telehealth services and generate an additional 4,200 patient visits over the first two years.
- Valleywise Health will receive $656,000 for facility improvements at their Community Health Center at 950 E. Van Buren Street in Avondale. The facility upgrades will be implemented using evidence-based design and support a safe, effective, and efficient setting for the 5,000 patients served at this location.
Jessica Yanow, president and CEO of the Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers, said each of the new and renovated facilities will create a significant and positive impact in the areas they serve.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with the Maricopa County Department of Public Health on these critical projects and honored to support Community Health Centers in increasing access to care throughout Maricopa County,” she said.
Maricopa County’s support for the Community Health Center capital projects is federally funded through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), enacted to provide programs and services to help people, families and businesses recover from the effects of the pandemic. These projects will help prepare Maricopa County to meet current and future public health crises, as well as daily health care needs. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors approved spending priorities in ARPA funds that can be tracked on a public dashboard.
The Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers (AACHC) is the Primary Care Association for the state of Arizona. AACHC provides training and technical assistance to Arizona’s Community Health Centers (CHCs) in support of their mission to deliver comprehensive, culturally competent, high-quality primary healthcare services to all Arizonans. AACHC comprises the state’s largest network of primary care providers and represents Arizona's CHCs who serve their communities including vulnerable, underserved, and low-income patients in rural and urban areas across the state. Arizona's CHCs serve 740,000 patients annually (about 1 in 10 Arizonans). CHCs provide primary care services including medical, oral health, behavioral health, pharmacy as well as a variety of enabling services to meet the needs of their communities.