By Alex Davidson
The new primary care hospital, to be located at 6200 Reverend Joseph H. May Dr., will replace the existing unit now at 67-10 Rockaway Beach Blvd. and house additional examination rooms and equipment for the peninsula's communities. The Addabbo hospital group already has centers at 130-20 Farmers Blvd. in Jamaica and 1288 Central Ave. in the Rockaways.
“We are experiencing a growing gap between the demand for our services and an appropriate space in which to continually meet the growing needs of the community,” said Dr. Peter Nelson, executive director of the Joseph P. Addabbo Family Health Center. “We are excited about the new health center because it will close this gap.”
Nelson said the Addabbo hospital, which has been in operation in the Rockaways for more than 15 years, will be able to increase the number of patients it treats by 8,000 – meaning the facility anticipates seeing 70,000 people once the new center opens, up from its previous recorded number of 62,000 people treated.
Nelson said the new facility will be unique in that patients will be examined by a group of doctors who will assess their condition in one examination room. This means patients will not have to move from room to room and, according to Nelson, should receive more efficient treatment with less waiting time.
The official groundbreaking ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. on Feb. 20 at 6200 Reverend Joseph H. May Drive.
Nelson said several elected officials joined forces to advocate for the hospital to construct a new wing. The executive director, in a release, thanked Borough President Helen Marshall, former Borough President Claire Shulman and Councilmen Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) and James Sanders (D-Laurelton) for their efforts in helping to secure funding and support for the Addabbo project.
The new primary care facility is part of a joint effort between the Addabbo hospitals and the Rockaway Development and Revitalization Corporation to build new health care facilities in the Rockaways.
Joseph P. Addabbo Family Health Center is the largest and only federally qualified health center with its main office in Queens that receives grant money to serve lower-income clients in the borough.
Reach reporter Alex Davidson by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by calling 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
