NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst has officially opened a new Medical Primary Care Center to help the hospital’s goal of expanding primary and preventive care to keep communities healthy and out of the hospital.
Located inside the hospital’s campus (80th Street and 41st Avenue in Elmhurst), the renovated 6,500 square foot space features ten new exam rooms, bringing the total up to 30 rooms, new furniture in the waiting areas and updated clinical equipment.
Last year, the hospital’s primary care system served approximately 30,000 patients. The new primary care space is expected to reduce waiting times, increase patient satisfaction and allow clinicians to see an additional 10,000 patients a year or 50 more patients per day.
“Enhancing and building our primary care capacity is key to NYC Health + Hospitals’ effort to reducing emergency room utilization and building long lasting, healthy relationships with our patients,” said Mitchell Katz, MD, President and CEO of NYC Health Hospitals. “This new Medical Primary Clinic will make our patients feel welcome and at home with their physicians. The clinic represents the future of primary care at NYC Health + Hospitals.”
With funding from the state, NYC Health + Hospitals invested $1 million to cover the cost of the renovations and new equipment. The new space supports the public health system’s broader multi-year redesign to build a competitive, sustainable organization that will continue to offer high-quality and accessible health care to the people of New York City.
In addition to providing physician services, patients at the new clinic can receive care from a multi-interdisciplinary team of providers that includes registered nurses, nurse practitioners, social workers, and nutritionists, as well as many routine exams including pap smears. Clinic meeting rooms have also been expanded for collaborative group teaching and patient education for topics such as mental health, diabetes, and hypertension.
Services that the clinic will offer include internal medicine, depression screening, pediatric/adolescent health, optometry, radiology, vaccinations and infection control, nutrition counseling, substance use disorder support, and confidential gynecologist and family planning appointments.
“Our community will benefit greatly from the merging of various primary care clinics into a single space, allowing for more convenient access to comprehensive medical services in an environment that is both inviting and patient-friendly,” said Israel Rocha, Vice President of NYC Health + Hospitals and Elmhurst CEO. “Additionally, the new clinic space will allow our primary care team to make more efficient use of exam rooms, offices, and support areas.”
For more information on NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst’s primary care services or to schedule an appointment, call 718 334-3150.
