Congressionally directed spending for construction projects - horizon health services, INC. (HHS) is a federally qualified health center that has been providing essential healthcare safety net…

This $2,000,000 Congressional Directive Project Grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (CFDA 93.493 - Congressional Directives) will enable Horizon Health Services, Inc. (doing business as Waverly Medical Center) to construct a new 29,000 sq. ft. healthcare facility in Waverly, Virginia. The funding will support site work and building construction costs for the new facility, which will allow Horizon Health Services to expand its existing primary care services and add critically needed dental and behavioral health services, including substance abuse treatment, to serve the medically underserved populations in Sussex County and surrounding areas. This project aims to address significant healthcare access challenges in this rural region, which has high poverty rates, limited healthcare infrastructure, and a shortage of healthcare professionals. The new facility will enable Horizon Health Services to reach more patients and have a greater impact on the lives of vulnerable individuals in these communities.

Congressionally directed spending for construction projects - horizon health services, INC. (HHS) is a federally qualified health center that has been providing essential healthcare safety net services in a rural setting for the past 45 years. HHS provides primary medical, dental, behavioral health, and pharmacy services to uninsured, underinsured, and other vulnerable patients. The current service area is defined predominantly as isle of wight, southampton, sussex, and surry counties in virginia. HHS currently operates three medical centers (IVOR, surry, WAVERLY), one dental center (IVOR), and one open-door retail pharmacy (WAVERLY). Limited behavioral health services are currently provided by one licensed clinical social worker, shared across all service locations. In 2023, HHS rendered care to 5,188 patients across 16,370 visits. HHS is seeking to enhance and expand the services that IT currently provides at its WAVERLY medical center location in sussex county. The current building is in dire need of replacement. The aging building, constructed in the 1960'S, is in need of major repairs/renovation. The interior is outdated, and the poor physical condition of the facility deters not only some patients but hinders recruitment/retention of qualified healthcare professionals as well. The current approximate 3,000 SQ. FT. Building is too small to meet the growing patient demand and accommodating the increasing number of patients/visits has become challenging. WAVERLY medical center has seen a 13% increase in patient visits over the past five years. In addition, more staffing has been added to serve the growing number of patients. The organization looked into the possibility of adding on to the existing building but found that the current structure could not support a second story and the small footprint of the property did not allow for single-story expansion. Currently, this location provides only primary care services but there is a significant need for dental and behavioral health services in sussex CO unty. There are currently no other providers of these services within the county. There are 10,763 people in sussex county (2021 census bureau) without readily accessible dental or mental health services. 1,875 of them live in WAVERLY alone. The lack of space in the current building prohibits the organization from adding these much-needed services in the current facility. To address these growing concerns, horizon plans to construct a new, larger WAVERLY health center that will provide more space to enhance access to the existing primary care practice and allow the addition of dental and behavioral health services (to include substance abuse services), all under one roof. Horizon serves a population adversely affected by poverty, unemployment, low education/literacy levels, geographic/transportation barriers, and social isolation. IT has a high minority population. According to the U.S. Census bureau, 56.1% of the population in sussex county is black, compared to the state average of 19.9%. The rate of persons living in poverty in sussex county is substantially higher than state and national averages. Similarly, sussex county exceeds both state and national unemployment and non-insured rates and has a higher than state average elderly population. Simply stated, HHS' WAVERLY medical center provides care to some of the most vulnerable patients in the commonwealth of virginia. Sussex and surrounding communities have long been federally designated medically underserved areas and health professional shortage areas. This project would allow HHS the space needed to add more healthcare professionals and add additional services… to reach more people and affect more lives. CPF/CDS funding will be used towards the site work and building construction costs of the new WAVERLY health center. Preliminary discussions with architects and conceptual plans indicate an ideal building size of approximately 29,000 SQ. FT. With an estimated project cost of $17,421,322.