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NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens Receives $1M From Congress to Support the Creation of a New Outpatient Dialysis Center
Mar 23, 2022
NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens today announced that $1M in funding from U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Representative Grace Meng was secured in the Fiscal Year 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act. This funding is critical to the creation of a new Outpatient Dialysis Center at the hospital. The new center answers a significant medical need in the community given the high number of patients with end-stage renal disease or kidney failure. It will also allow patients with chronic renal dialysis needs, or those waiting for a kidney transplant, access to dialysis treatments on the Queen’s Hospital campus. This would allow NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens to further close the gap in delivering services and addressing disparities in healthcare delivery and access. An existing space will be used to house the new center.
“I am proud to have helped secure this critical funding for Queens alongside my colleague Grace Meng,” said U.S Senator Charles E. Schumer, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate. “Kidney disease and renal failure are immense challenges to residents across the borough and require intensive, time-consuming treatment. This center will allow NYC Health + Hospitals to make sure that residents can get the care they need.”
“I am excited and thankful that NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens will receive this crucial funding through the new government spending package, and I am proud to have secured it,” said Congresswoman Grace Meng, New York’s senior Member of the House Appropriations Committee. “This will be a huge addition to our borough, and serve a critical medical need for Queens residents fighting renal disease and kidney failure. It will also allow area residents who are waiting on kidney transplants to have local access to dialysis treatments. The $1 million will help renovate the current space and update the treatment area with modern equipment, improving the lives of residents and reducing the healthcare disparities among those living in Queens.” “We are excited to offer this outpatient service to the Queens community,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD. “This new dialysis center will enhance our patients’ continuum of care. We thank Senator Schumer and Congressmember Meng for their continued leadership and support.”
“We are extremely grateful to U.S. Senator Schumer and U.S. Representative Meng for this critical funding on our behalf, which will enable us to provide a state-of-the-art Outpatient Dialysis Center located right in the heart of Queens to members of our patient family, many of whom rely on our hospital for their primary care as well as prefer to receive the services they need right here in their own borough,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens CEO Neil J. Moore, MBA, MPA, FACHE. “As we continue to shift our focus toward prevention and chronic disease management, establishing this new center would demonstrate cutting-edge clinical interventions leading to improved clinical outcomes. Particularly in light of new realities created by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are acutely aware of the importance of prioritizing our patients’ comfort so they can receive the right care, at the right place, at the right time, all of the time.”
“The demand for a new Outpatient Dialysis Center remains strong and specifically focused on the disparate and underserved patient population of Queens Hospital,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens Deputy Medical Director Jean-Bernard Poulard, MD. “Given the high number of patients with the renal complications wrought by diabetes, the new center would benefit a base population of 350 of our existing active patients, in addition to 25 to 30 new dialysis patients each year – as well as the potential to attract patient referrals from surrounding community providers. “The overall goal is to provide high-quality, timely and patient-centered care to a chronic care patient population in a single-site setting. Lastly, in the event of an unlikely adverse reaction, having the hospital as the primary site of care affords our patients the benefits of having emergency response services always close at hand.”
The total estimated cost for the entire project is $2.62 million. This includes the cost of renovation of the existing space and new equipment. This funding will help to reduce healthcare disparities in the borough of Queens by providing
Based on the NYC Community Health Needs Assessment of 2019 for New York City and the Queens County Supplement, the prevalence of diabetes, and especially its latter stage complications, is significant and growing. There is a strong need for a new Outpatient Dialysis Center to serve southeastern Queens and its surrounding communities. The mandate for the project is exemplified by letters of support from many local elected officials (Congresswoman Grace Meng and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards among them), as well as by the President of the NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens Auxiliary, Ms. Doretha McFadden, and NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens former Community Advisory Board Chair Dr. Anthony Andrews.
For more information about NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens, visit our website www.nychealthandhospitals.org/queens, or call 1-844-NYC-4NYC for an appointment.