The new building will be constructed along Roosevelt Avenue and is scheduled to be completed in 2025. Construction of a second, smaller new city health center near the Frankford Transportation Center is already underway.
The additional locations will join the existing Philadelphia Department of Public Health city health centersthat provide primary care, pharmacy, radiology, behavioral health counseling and social support services.
Most of the people receiving care at the centers have low incomes and are uninsured or underinsured, city officials said.
Health Center 10 is the city's only facility currently serving the Northeast. Sarah Ennis, head of health, said waiting times for new adult patient appointments have reached 12 months and waiting times for new child appointments are around six months.
“These long wait times force patients to forgo care for chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease,” Ennis said, “resulting in reduced ability to work, support their families, enjoy quality of life, which unfortunately it leads to a shortening of life.”
The city's new health center at Friends Hospital is projected to serve about 30,000 people a year.
District 7 City Council Member Quetcy Lozada, the primary sponsor of the zoning legislation, said this type of expanded access to health care services in the area is long overdue in order to close care gaps, reduce waiting time and increase the health of the overall community.
“Making sure that people have access to a doctor was very important, making sure that residents could fill their prescriptions before they left the doctor's office was extremely important,” Lozada said. “All the opportunities that will be or could be available in a project like this are opportunities to create a healthier seventh council district.”
