During the height of the pandemic, the Center for Comprehensive Health Practice (CCHP) received the news they would have to move after 30 years of operating their integrated health care services within Metropolitan Hospital Center. “Moving at any time can be a trying experience, but moving in the middle of a pandemic felt nearly impossible. We must have looked at nearly 20 places all over New York City. But when we walked into 35 E. 110th Street, we immediately knew we found our new home.” The Center for Comprehensive Health Practice celebrated their new location on Tuesday, May 2nd with a ribbon cutting and reception at 35 E. 110th Street (bet. Fifth and Madison Avenue) 4th Floor, New York, NY.
The non-profit organization worked tirelessly with guidance from city, state and federal government, hyper-local community leaders and their committed Board of Directors to successfully secure their own, free-standing health center. The 63-year-old Center excitedly welcomed their 14,000 square feet new location but more importantly remained within the East Harlem community. CCHP provides high quality, affordable healthcare that integrates primary care, behavioral and mental healthcare, addiction treatment, early childhood development services, and other supportive resources for their patients – mostly Black/Brown individuals, families and children. CCHP is a licensed Article 28 and Article 32 Center, recently certified as a Comprehensive Outpatient Integrated Treatment Program.
The Center generously received fiscal and community support to continue to serve their patients and welcome new patients from: Community Board 11, Ira W. DeCamp Foundation, the Manhattan Borough President’s Office,; Board member Ruth Colp-Haber for real estate negotiations for the new clinic; and the largest support coming from New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) – through the administrative and fiscal support of OASAS, CCHP was able to secure and renovate a new location. “We often see that patients struggling with mental health, addiction or social determinants of health such as food insecurity or unstable housing, tend to not prioritize their primary care. At CCHP, we integrated all of our services, including primary care, onto one floor to address the needs of the whole patient, and to support the growth of healthy families and communities,” says Dr. Mariely Fernandez, Chief Medical Officer.