NORTH MIAMI, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Miami Beach Community Health Center (MBCHC) received a $85,532 grant from Health Foundation of South Florida that will increase the nonprofit Center’s ability to provide affordable quality health care for thousands of additional patients residing in northeastern Miami-Dade County and surrounding areas.
The funds will be used to expand the MBCHC North Miami clinic. The additions include equipping seven dental operatories to provide services that will integrate oral health and primary health, a Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) initiative. Working at least five days per week, the Center’s skilled dental staff will be able to provide thousands of additional patient visits per year in the new space. The patients will also have access to a primary care center that shares a waiting room with the dental space.
“This generous grant from Health Foundation of South Florida will make a tremendous difference in the lives of area residents, allowing us to continue fulfilling our mission to provide our community with affordable quality health care,” said Trudy Edwards, MBCHC’s Director of Grants and Project Development. “I am proud that all our patients receive the same high-quality health care regardless of their economic circumstances.”
Construction of the expanded facilities is underway. Primary care patients are already being served. The Center is expected to open its doors to receive dental patients by April 1, 2016.
This grant comes on the heels of a series of recent accolades for MBCHC, including (1) recognition from the National Center for Quality Assurance as a level 3 Medical Home, (2) an Award of Excellence in Maternal, Infant and Child Health for Healthy Start Prenatal Screening from the Healthy Start Coalition of Miami-Dade, an award given to prenatal care providers who obtain a 95 percent or higher consent rate and (3) a 2015 HRSA Quality Award which formally recognized MBCHC as a high value Federally Qualified Community Health Center, resulting in MBCHC receiving the highest award in the State out of 44 Federally Qualified Community Health Centers and the seventh highest award in the Nation out of more than 1000 Federally Qualified Community Health Centers.
For additional information on the Miami Beach Community Health Center, please call: 305.538.8835 or www.MBCHC.org
About Miami Beach Community Health Center: For more than 30 years, the Miami Beach Community Health Center has been dedicated to helping the uninsured and underinsured in South Florida obtain affordable, quality medical care. The center has been able to carry out this mission with assistance from both public and private funding sources.
About Health Resources and Services Administration: HRSA, and agency of the US Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary federal agency for improving access to health care by strengthening the healthcare workforce, building healthy communities and achieving health equity. HRSA’s programs provide healthcare to people who are geographically isolated, economically or medically vulnerable. Visit www.hrsa.gov for more information.
About Health Foundation of South Florida: Health Foundation of South Florida, a nonprofit grant making organization, is dedicated to improving health in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. By funding providers and supporting programs to promote health and prevent disease, the Foundation makes a measurable and sustainable impact in the health of individuals and families. Since 1993, the Foundation has awarded more than $113 million in grants and program support. For more information, please call 305.374.7200 or visit the website, www.hfsf.org
