PHMC Health Center on Cedar: A new hub for community health in West Philadelphia

Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), a nonprofit public health institute that creates and sustains healthier communities, has opened the PHMC Health Center on Cedar, a federally qualified health center (FQHC) located inside the PHMC Public Health Campus on Cedar at 54^th Street and Cedar Avenue in West Philadelphia. The Health Center, which is staffed by clinicians from Penn Medicine's Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, provides community members with access to high-quality, integrated, patient-centered health care in collaboration with Penn Medicine.

The PHMC Health Center on Cedar is a federally funded health care clinic offering primary and preventive care, behavioral health services, prenatal and postnatal care, substance use disorder treatment, chronic disease management and social services assistance. The Center is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., via walk-ins and in-person or telehealth appointments. The Center accepts most insurance plans and offers a sliding fee scale, with all patients treated regardless of their ability to pay.

This new Health Center-;which provides care across the lifespan and has thus far served patients ranging in age from six months to 96 years old-;offers an important complement to the broad continuum of public health services and programming for the Cedar campus. In addition to the new Health Center, the PHMC Public Health Center on Cedar includes an emergency department and onsite inpatient and hospital-based behavioral health services as a remote location for the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), known as HUP-Cedar Avenue.

The PHMC Public Health Campus on Cedar was founded on a guiding principle to provide community-informed, high quality health care through an innovative and integrated public health campus. The opening of the Health Center, along with this innovative partnership with Penn Medicine, is an exciting next step to serve our West and Southwest Philadelphia neighbors. We're thrilled to welcome children, adults and families to our public health campus for high-quality care."

Richard J. Cohen, President and CEO of PHMC

In March 2021, the PHMC Public Health Campus on Cedar opened, transitioning the building from the former Mercy Philadelphia Hospital. The campus, which is owned and operated by PHMC, continues to evolve into a multi-faceted and innovative public health campus.

In the year since the PHMC Public Health Campus on Cedar opened to the community, it has retained a critical community health access point, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, staff at HUP-Cedar Avenue have cared for more than 5,850 patients during inpatient and observational stays, provided care during 37,000 emergency department visits and connected dozens of patients for specialty care in other parts of the Penn Medicine system. The campus has been a key site for walk-up COVID-19 testing and vaccinations and, at the height of the omicron surge, more than half of inpatients at HUP-Cedar Avenue were being treated for COVID.

"The new Health Center is an important extension of our public health partnership. It's a place that prioritizes taking care of our neighbors in the very best setting-;closest to home, where they can count on our team to be their trusted medical home for every phase in their lives," said Kevin B. Mahoney, CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. "Our work with PHMC has shown that new models and creative ideas are essential for building and supporting healthy communities, and for keeping health equity at the center of that mission."

The PHMC Public Health Campus on Cedar is in Philadelphia City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier's District.

"West Philadelphia residents need and deserve high-quality health care -; and I'm grateful that the new health center at the PHMC Public Health Campus on Cedar will allow even more community members to receive that care," said Councilmember Gauthier. "Since the inception of the Public Health Campus, PHMC and Penn Medicine have been laser-focused on ensuring that their approach to this work centers the surrounding community and its unique health and wellness needs -; and I'm so grateful for their continued partnership and dedication."

A key element of the campus is a robust community engagement plan that includes the launch of a community advisory board and regular and ongoing community outreach with stakeholders. This continued engagement between residents and campus program leaders will provide an informed approach to meeting current and future community needs, services and supports for residents. Services in the facility are oriented toward meeting top issues identified through the most recent Community Health Needs Assessment for the area, which include substance and opioid use, behavioral health care, and access to affordable primary and preventive care.

"We're grateful for PHMC and Penn Medicine for giving new life to this great campus," said Stacey McCoy-Ndiaye, member of the PHMC Public Health Campus on Cedar Community Advisory Board. "This vision has maintained hundreds of jobs, engaged with neighborhood organizations and provided our community with access to quality health care through the opening of this new health center. We're very optimistic about the future of the campus and look forward to our continued partnership."

As part of this project, the Independence Blue Cross Foundation supports the engagement of community-based, non-profit social services that address key issues, such as health and wellness education and food insecurity.

The PHMC Health Center on Cedar is part of PHMC's Health Network, which includes six federally qualified health centers and provides care for more than 23,000 Philadelphians annually. PHMC's nurses provide primary care services in 12 shelters and serve as a resource to street outreach teams working with people experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia. PHMC Health Network provides a public health approach to health care -- one that is preventive, focuses on the integration of physical and behavioral health, and is community-centered in addressing the social determinants of health.

For additional information on the PHMC Health Network, please visit phmchealthnetwork.org.