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Featured image courtesy of Neighborhood Health Centers of the Lehigh Valley
Nonprofit celebrates 10 years as a Federally Qualified Health Center in 2022.
Allentown, PA – August 11, 2022 – Neighborhood Health Centers of the Lehigh Valley held an open house event yesterday evening for its new community health center at 160 Hamilton Street in downtown Allentown. It is the fifth location for the nonprofit organization and the largest of its sites.
In addition to full-scope family healthcare services from newborn thru geriatric care, the new site will also offer preventative and restorative dental health, women’s health including family planning and prenatal care, chronic care management programs, behavioral and mental health, and onsite medically assisted therapy for opioid use disorder. It is expected to begin welcoming patients in October.
NHCLV Dental will welcome new, dental-only patients in addition to serving current NHCLV primary care patients. A 340B pharmacy for patient prescriptions is on track to open early in the new year in collaboration with Walgreens and Whitehall Pharmacy. Array Architects of Conshohocken provided the interior redesign for the renovated former office space, which now features 15 clinical rooms, private behavioral health rooms, an in-house pharmacy, group education room, and dental services wing.
NHCLV is the region’s first Federally Qualified Health Center, an independent 501c3 nonprofit organization. It was officially incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 2004 with a goal of meeting the needs for a coordinated system of primary care for the uninsured and underinsured residents of the Lehigh Valley. It receives federal funding through the Health Center Program to improve the health of the underserved and vulnerable populations in the community. It began operating its first health center just two blocks away from the new site on N. 2nd St. in downtown Allentown in 2012, and this year celebrates 10 years as an FQHC.
The event took place on Patient Appreciation Day of the 2022 National Health Center Week celebration, during which Federally Qualified Health Centers like NHCLV across the country honor the work they do in their community and the team members that care for their patients. https://www.nhclv.org/national-health-center-week/
Financing for the project was provided by the US Department of Health & Human Services, Capital Link, and The Commonwealth Fund.
All NHCLV health centers are open to the general public, and accept patients with or without health insurance. Health center locations include: downtown Allentown inside Casa Guadalupe Center, Southside Bethlehem at Donegan Elementary School, Northside Bethlehem, and West Ward Easton inside the Two Rivers Health & Wellness Building. NHCLV will retain its presence at the Casa Guadalupe Center location with select services targeted to residents of that community center and neighborhood. (NHCLV is an independent, nonprofit, patient-led organization, not affiliated with any local health networks.) www.nhclv.org
NHCLV would like to thank this year’s National Health Center Week sponsors for making this event, and this week’s other community events, possible:
- Platinum Level – Aetna Medicare Solutions
- Gold Level – Bank’s Apothecary Specialty Pharmacy; CaptialBlueCross; Highmark Wholecare
- Silver Level – AmeriHealth Caritas; UPMC
- Bronze Level – Magellan Health, Telemynd; UnitedHealthcare; Whitehall Pharmacy
- Open House Sponsor – Aetna Better Health Kids (CHIP); The Wawa Foundation
- Nonprofit Sponsors – Casa Guadalupe Center; National Alliance on Mental Illness – Lehigh Valley
Information provided to TVL by:
Tracey Werner, Marketing Consultant
tracey@blabbermouthcommunications.com
