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Funding will ensure low-income and uninsured have access to primary care
“Restoring access to health care services for vulnerable populations is the top priority of our Sandy relief program, so we are glad to help ensure continuity of care in this devastated community.”
—Garrett Ingoglia, AmeriCares VP of Emergency Response
Stamford, Conn. – March 27, 2013 – AmeriCares has awarded a $250,000 grant to Long Beach Medical Center in Long Beach, N.Y., to continue primary care services for low-income and uninsured patients in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The funds will help offset operating costs for the hospital’s Family Care Center which was flooded with over 10 feet of water during the October storm.
The AmeriCares grant, along with patient fees and grants from other organizations, is expected to cover the operating expenses for the Family Care Center for a year until the hospital is fully operational again. The Family Care Center, which is operating out of temporary location on Franklin Boulevard, provides primary care for about 2,000 adolescents and adults. Nearly half of the patients who rely on its services are uninsured. Prior to the hurricane, the Family Care Center received funding from Long Beach Medical Center, but those funds are no longer available as the hospital undergoes more than $56 million in repairs to its mechanical, electrical and heating systems.
“The Family Care Center is the only primary care provider for low-income and uninsured individuals and families in hard-hit Long Beach,” said AmeriCares Vice President of Emergency Response Garrett Ingoglia. “Restoring access to health care services for vulnerable populations is the top priority of our Sandy relief program, so we are glad to help ensure continuity of care in this devastated community.”
The city of Long Beach sustained some of the worst damage during the October storm. Sections of its landmark boardwalk were washed away and dozens of homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed. Nearly five months later, the 162-bed hospital is still closed; operations are expected to resume in late April. AmeriCares dispatched its mobile medical clinic there in December to serve as a temporary facility for the Family Care Center until it moved to its current location.
The $250,000 grant is part of AmeriCares Hurricane Sandy relief program which is restoring access to medical care and mental health services and helping storm-damaged communities prepare for future disasters. To date, the nonprofit global health and disaster relief organization has provided $3.8 million in aid benefitting nearly 400,000 storm victims in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
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