Health Center plans expansion

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

CHICOPEE What was once an abandoned grocery store on Front Street will be the new Chicopee home for the Holyoke Health Center.

Holyoke Health Center Executive Director Jay Breines made the announcement on Nov. 20 during a press conference with Mayor Michael Bissonnette.

Once the state's Department of Public Health approves the Center's plans, Breines said the Center would go out to bid on the project. He expects the 13,000 square foot facility will be ready either late spring or early summer of next year.

The project represents a $4 to $5 million investment and would have an annual operating budget of about $3 million, he added.

Currently, the Center serves 16,000 people with medial and dental services at its present locations in Holyoke and Chicopee. Breines said there are approximately 16,000 people in Chicopee without health insurance that would qualify for the new Commonwealth health program. These people would benefit from having access to health care within the city.

"We're really going to have access to the folks who have had difficulty getting care," Breines said.

Breines said that, although many of the Center's patients are considered low income, anyone could be a patient. He noted that many younger people who have recently graduated from college and are employed at their first jobs are turning to community health centers such as this one for their primary care.

"This [office] will grow. There's no doubt," Breines added.

The plans for the new office include both medial and dental facilities with eight dental chairs and 12 medical examination rooms. Breines said there is also space allocated for a pharmacy.

There is also a 2,200 square foot space that Breines said could be rented to a day care or an optometrist. He said he hasn't ruled out trying to find a healthful food vendor for the rental area.

Bissonnette said the new facility is an opportunity for various entities in the city to work together. Elms College President Dr. James Mullen, Junior, toured the Holyoke facility and said at the press conference he was "blown away" at what he saw. Elms College has a nursing program and the new Chicopee site offers "a whole range of opportunities" for collaboration, Mullen added.