The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in southeast Queens has been profound, with a disproportionate death rate among residents last spring well as high positivity rates almost a year later. The lack of health care options available in the community is a prime factor that has been exposed during the coronavirus emergency.
However, help is on the way in the form of a new 15,000-square-foot Tree of Life health clinic that will be coming to 89-46 164th St. in Jamaica later this year.
“If there is one thing this pandemic has shown us, it is that lack of healthcare infrastructure in communities of color has truly devastating effects in a time of crisis,” Councilman I. Daneek Miller said. “The new Community Healthcare Network facility will help provide access to preventative care and allow southeast Queens residents to spend their insurance dollars in the community. We are looking forward to the facility opening later this year, and are grateful that we are able to allocate funding towards its development.”
Community Healthcare Network, Inc. closed a $10 million New Markets Tax Credit transaction with NYC Neighborhood Capital Corporation, as part of the city’s Economic Development Corporation.
“The effects of the pandemic in southeast Queens are a reminder of the need to bring health care services directly to communities of color,” NYCEDC Chief of Staff James Katz said. “We are thrilled to be partnering with the Community Healthcare Network of New York to help deliver quality care to the residents of Jamaica.”
Community Healthcare Network is a New York City healthcare provider serving more than 80,000 New Yorkers at 14 federally qualified health centers throughout Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Manhattan, along with a fleet of mobile vans that bring health services to underserved people in need throughout the city. It provides judgment-free, high-quality healthcare, without regard to race, religion, orientation, gender identity, immigration status or ability to pay. The new clinic in Jamaica will serve 11,000 people annually.
“The Tree of Life project will allow us to double the clinical care we provide, while adding new services, including dentistry and a pharmacy,” Community Healthcare Network President and CEO Robert Hayes said. “We are grateful for the support of NYCEDC, and for this terrific community collaboration which is allowing our expansion.”
Community Healthcare Network’s mission is to provide access to quality, culturally competent and comprehensive community-based primary care, mental health and social services for diverse populations in underserved communities throughout New York City.
