Congressman Brian Higgins announced that Community Health Center of Buffalo (CHCB) has been awarded a $5 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services as part of their Capital Development – Building Capacity program. They will use this funding to expand their facility in Niagara Falls adjacent to the Memorial Medical Center. Congressman Higgins toured the CHCB on Tuesday, May 1.
“Community health centers like the Community Health Center of Buffalo are a vital source of affordable care and preventative services,” said Congressman Higgins. “This grant will allow them to expand their services to care for more Western New Yorkers, and also support good paying jobs in our community.”
CHCB began serving Buffalo’s East side in 1999 and is one of only three Federally Qualified Health Centers in Western New York. In September of 2010 they opened a satellite location in Niagara Falls. Combined, the sites served more than 11,000 patients in 2010.
The federal grant will allow CHCB to construct a new facility next to the hospital to address the unmet needs of patients in the area. The site, scheduled for opening in late 2013, is expected to serve 6,000 new patients and 18,000 visits.
“Through our satellite site we have witnessed a real need for expanded health care services in the greater Niagara Falls area,” said Dr. LaVonne Ansari, CEO & Executive Director of Community Health Center of Buffalo, Inc. “Construction of the Community Health Center of Niagara Falls is a great opportunity to provide individuals and families with permanent access to high quality, comprehensive primary care right in their neighborhood.”
Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster added, “This Health and Human Services grant is great news for the City of Niagara Falls and I want to take this opportunity to thank Congressman Higgins for his work in securing these funds. The Community Health Center of Buffalo facility, located here in our city, is a good neighbor and a valued member of our health care infrastructure, bringing preventive and primary care services to the people who need it most in the place where they live and work.”
The Capital Development – Building Capacity program is a grant program created by the Affordable Care Act that provides community health care centers with funding to support long-term renovation and construction projects for facility expansion and improvement of services.
Community Health Center’s grant is one of 9 awarded in New York state and 171 nationwide.
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