SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield joined electricians, iron workers and other tradesmen to celebrate the start of construction on the Caring Health Center’s $23 million clinic in the South End.
The project, to be called the Congressman Richard E. Neal clinic, is scheduled to open in August after multiple delays and setbacks, including a pummeling from the June 1, 2011 tornado.
The clinic, located at the old Hampden Furniture building at 1049 Main St., will offer medical and dental offices, as well as prevention and wellness center, community meeting rooms and administrative offices.
Speaking at a luncheon at the center’s Main Street headquarters, Neal said the new facility reflects new priorities in health care, from improved access for low-income residents to an emphasis on prevention and wellness.
“This will be the face of modern health care,” said Neal, who secured a $500,000 federal grant last year for the project and also assisted the center’s private fundraising efforts. About 120 people attended the luncheon, including unionized construction workers currently building the clinic, said Anne S. Awad, the center’s president and chief executive officer.
In a show of support, four labor unions - the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, local 7 and Sheet Metal Workers, local 63, both based in Springfield; Bricklayers and Allied Craft Workers, Local 3 in Charlestown; and the Ironworkers Union, local 7, in Boston – donated about $37,000 to the project, Awad said.
“It was great; it was a complete surprise,” Awad said.
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