HEALTH: St. Mary's opens new center in North End

Local News

Related Photos

(James Neiss) Mount St. Mary's has dedicated its new $1.6 million Neighborhood Health Center at 3001 Ninth St.
(James Neiss) Bernadette Franjoine, senior director of operations, Patricia Villani, director of the new Neighborhood Health Center and Sister Nora Sweeney, D.C, check out some of the interior details of the new $1.6 million Mount St. Mary's Neighborhood Health Center at 3001 Ninth St.
(James Neiss) Patricia Villani, director of the new $1.6 million Mount St. Mary's Neighborhood Health Center, stands at the future nurses station. The clinic features 12 exam rooms and offers treatment from doctors in Family Medicine, Pediatrics and OBGYN, plus nurse practitioners.

Discussion

April 8, 2010

HEALTH: St. Mary's opens new center in North End

By Mark Scheer Niagara Gazette The Niagara Gazette Thu Apr 08, 2010, 01:16 PM EDT

NIAGARA FALLS — Patricia Villani remembers a day not long ago when she was reviewing designs for a proposed community health center in the city’s North End.

Today, Villani and her colleagues from Mount St. Mary’s Hospital will gather to dedicate their new neighborhood health center, a $1.3 million facility that represents a dream come true.

“To be standing here is just unbelievable,” said Villani, the health center’s director. “I’m sure, once we are open, the patients are going to be just as excited as we are.”

Located at the corner of Profit Lane and Ninth Street, the center promises patients more services and expanded accommodations. At 6,500-square-feet, the building is more than double the size of the hospital’s former clinic, which was located inside the neighboring Doris Jones Family Resource Building. New features include 12 exam rooms, an expanded waiting room and a larger patient intake area. Visitors will find many of the same health services that were available at the old center, including primary care and pediatrics.

The site is staffed by 11 local physicians and four nurse practitioners who volunteer part of their time to the clinic.

“It’s the same service that you would get in their private offices,” said Bernadette Franjoine, senior director of operations at Mount St. Mary’s.

Franjoine said women’s health, chronic disease management and counseling services will also be available at the new center. She said the hospital also plans to begin offering dental care, podiatry and other services in the future.

Services are not limited to North End residents. All visitors are provided assistance, regardless of their level of insurance coverage or ability to pay.

“Our mission is to serve the poor and leave no one behind,” Franjoine said.

Mount St. Mary’s first North End neighborhood clinic opened in 1992. It averaged about 16 patients per day. Increased demand prompted a move in 1997 into the Niagara Falls Housing Authority’s resource building where the clinic started offering full-time services to about 3,000 patients per year. Franjoine said the increased patient demand prompted hospital officials to consider a new facility.

The health center served roughly 10,000 patients last year. Hospital officials anticipate as many as 15,000 people will pay a visit during the next year.

Funds for the new facility were raised by the Mount St. Mary’s Foundation with assistance from the John R. Oishei Foundation ($300,000), the Grigg-Lewis Foundation ($150,000), Niagara Falls Community Development ($100,000) and Fidelis Care — New York ($50,000). In addition, $100,000 in funding was secured through a capital assistance grant by Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte and $250,000 was secured by state Sen. Antoine Thompson.

The health center opens to patients on Monday. The regular office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Text Only | Photo Reprints

Local News

One injured in Niagara Avenue shooting incident Tuesday night
A 19-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to his thigh after a shooting incident in the 1800 block of Niagara Avenue Tuesday night.

June 19, 2013 2 Photos
Youngstown man killed in motorcycle crash
June 19, 2013 1 Photo
County gives NTCC a 1-year deal The Republican-led legislative supermajority pushed through a one-year extension of Niagara County's funding contract with Niagara Tourism & Convention Corporation on Tuesday.
June 19, 2013
Detectives are investigating additional allegations of sexual misconduct against Falls principal
The investigation into possible sexual misconduct by a Niagara Falls school principal has expanded.

Police sources confirm to the Gazette that two more women have come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against Patrick Kuciewski, the principal at 79th Street School.

June 19, 2013 1 Photo
Cuomo, Albany leaders reach deal on casinos, Tax-Free NY plan
Four upstate casinos and separate bills on a women's rights package including an abortion proposal that appeared to have been blocked in the Senate were part of a late-session deal, according to a senior official in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration.

June 19, 2013 1 Photo
UPDATE: Motorcyclist killed in Cambria crash identified
A 20-year-old motorcyclist was killed Tuesday night after colliding with a minivan in the Town of Cambria.

June 19, 2013 2 Photos
Dyster details casino cash plan
Mayor Paul Dyster drew a rough sketch of plans for the $89 million in withheld casino revenues that will soon hit city accounts during a press conference Tuesday at City Hall. Dyster said the delivery of the funds will alleviate some of the financial stress caused by a looming cash crunch that would have come to a head this fall had the casino cash dispute not ended last week. He also stressed that city officials will need to continue to work together to deal with ongoing structural deficits in the budget in the weeks and months ahead.

June 19, 2013 2 Photos
State comptroller's analysis shows Falls ranks high among challenged communities
The New York State Comptroller’s Office has once again delivered bad news to the city of Niagara Falls.

The city was ranked in the top category - “significant stress” - by Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office in the first round of municipalities analyzed as part of the state’s new Fiscal Stress Monitoring program.

June 19, 2013
Second time charm in N-W
June 18, 2013 2 Photos
Lew-Port budget passed second time around
Relief. Appreciative.

Just a pair of words used by Lewiston-Porter officials after Tuesday's budget vote results were revealed. The district's $39.6 million spending plan was approved by voters in overwhelming fashion, 1,663 to 993, to avoid contingency status for 2013-14.

June 18, 2013 2 Photos
More Local News Headlines