Community project funding/congressionally directed spending - construction - north shore community health's (NSCH) has been the primary source of healthcare for a diverse population of low-income,…

Community project funding/congressionally directed spending - construction - north shore community health's (NSCH) has been the primary source of healthcare for a diverse population of low-income, medically underserved, uninsured, and under-insured service area residents. More than 90% of patients live at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. Over 42% of patients identified as belonging to a racial and/or ethnic minority, 33.4% of those being hispanic/latino. NSCH has 10 service sites located in three communities: salem, peabody and gloucester of which 6 sites are school-based and are the teen health center at salem high school, the student health center at peabody veterans memorial high school, and five behavioral health-only sites at elementary schools. NSCH has purchases a new location to move and expand the salem family health center (SFHC) facility where IT will continue to offer primarily low-income populations medical, dental, mental, and behavioral health services, public health advocacy, pharmacy and for the first time, urgent care, in a larger, state of the art facility. This will replace the current leased facilities which are inefficient, dated, dilapidated, and which the SFHC outgrew many years ago. Given the ongoing lack of same day appointment access, health center staff know the need is great for more primary care access, including dental and behavioral health, expanding the pharmacy and staff meeting space, and the addition of new urgent care services.