Community Health Center of North Country to open Ogdensburg primary care center with $3.4 million grant

OGDENSBURG, NY    |    By CRAIG FREILICH    |    Thursday, July 20, 2017 – 11:50 am

Original article can be found at:  http://northcountrynow.com/

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OGDENSBURG — Canton-based Community Health Center of the North Country will be opening a primary care health center, following receipt of a $3.4 million grant.

The $3,391,245 grant, from the Statewide Health Care Facility Transformation Program, was announced Wednesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office.

The target opening date is in the second half of 2018, said CHCNC spokesman Ray Babowicz.

He said CHCNC bought a Ford Street building formerly occupied by electronics manufacturer Filtran and now will begin “a full remodel and renovation.”

“Our intent is to provide full primary care coverage,” he said, “and we will potentially add more services down the road.”

This will be CHNC’s fourth federally qualified health center, adding to the services provided in Canton, Gouverneur and Malone.

“A lot of people in the Ogdensburg area are in need of the services we can provide and many of these families don’t have transportation to our other locations, so we want it to be convenient,” Babowicz said in an earlier discussion of the plan.

CHCNC’s Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) designation, given to not-for-profit community-based clinics in medically underserved areas around the country that offer primary and preventive care to anyone regardless of their ability to pay, also makes it more economical for them to offer services to underserved populations since they can get grants and higher reimbursement rates for treating some patients than hospitals and doctors can generally take advantage of. And while their services are primarily intended as a safety net for people of modest means who might not be able to afford care, all are welcome to see them for care, Babowicz said.

The announcement of the planed Ogdensburg location drew an endorsement from Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center for the plan that would help fill perceived gaps in service in the Ogdensburg area. And United Helpers CEO Stephen Knight said CHCNC’s presence there will “help address our community’s historic need for affordable, accessible and coordinated care.”