Rep. Carolyn Maloney came to the Lower East Side this afternoon to present the Community Healthcare Network with a $1.3 million stimulus check. Catherine Abate, the non-profit organization's president, accepted the grant, saying it would enable the clinic to serve more than 4-thousand additional patients.
The money will be used for construction of a second floor of CHN's Downtown Health Center, at 150 Essex Street. In the new space, the clinic will provide primary care, dental care, specialty services, as well as educational programs. 11 new full-time employees will be hired once the expanded facility opens.
The Lower East Side Center operates 9 clinics in under-served communities of New York City. Many of their patients do not have health insurance. The LES is a federally designated "medically under-served" area.
CHN is one of 85 clinics across the country that were awarded stimulus grants late last week.
