Callen-Lorde Bronx Health Center Gets $650K Grant From ACA

Callen-Lorde Community Health Center announced that it has been selected for Affordable Care Act funding to open its planned new site in the South Bronx, in partnership with BOOM!Health. Callen-Lorde was selected for a New Access Point grant of $650,000 through a highly competitive process of the Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the US Department of Health and Human Services, for delivery of comprehensive primary health care services in communities that need them most.
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Callen-Lorde's new Bronx site will target services to reach underserved lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) Bronx residents and homeless or unstably housed LGBTQ people from across New York City. Working closely with BOOM!Health and other partners to provide outreach, transportation assistance and a comprehensive continuum of care to address health disparities and improve access to care, this will significantly increase Callen-Lorde's ability to help underserved LGBTQ populations in the Bronx.

The new Bronx location will be situated in a 3,500 square foot suite of BOOM!Health's five-story, 35,000 square foot Wellness Center in the South Bronx, co-located with a host of wraparound services designed to meet the needs of the target population. Callen-Lorde will provide primary care and behavioral health services, including adolescent care, targeted to LGBTQ communities and welcoming to all, including a special program dedicated to serving people who reside in shelters. When fully operational, Callen-Lorde estimates the new six-exam room site will serve 3,800 patients each year.
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"We are thrilled to be included in this historic moment when new primary healthcare capacity is being built all around the country for underserved communities under the Affordable Care Act," said Wendy Stark, Callen-Lorde's Executive Director.

"We are one of several LGBTQ-focused community health centers nationwide being recognized as an integral part of the health care system that will ensure culturally and clinically competent health care is accessible to all," she added. "We look forward to working closely with BOOM!Health and our fellow health care providers in the Bronx and thank them for welcoming us as partners and colleagues."

Callen-Lorde is one of several health centers focused on LGBTQ populations across the nation in this grant pool. This funding represents a tremendous change in the federal government's approach to recognizing the health disparities faced by LGBTQ people

This announcement of this federal designation also bolsters Callen-Lorde's project in the Bronx, which came to fruition after being invited to become the medical partner for BOOM!Health. Callen-Lorde is New York's leading health center with a mission to provide quality, sensitive medical and related services targeted to LGBTQ communities.

"We at BOOM!Health are ecstatic by the news of Callen-Lorde's New Access Point designation at our Wellness Center in the Bronx. This grant will ensure that our co-located model of care will succeed in meeting the needs of our underserved community and achieve our vision of Health, Wellness and Safety for All," stated Jose M. Davila, President and CEO of BOOM!Health.

Callen-Lorde's New Access Point grant was part of a round of $169 million in Affordable Care Act funding announced for 266 new health center sites nationwide.