LCH staff at the current Oxford location 303 North Third Street: Left to right Certified Family Nurse Practitioner Marthe Adler, MSN, CRNP, FNP; Bonnie Valente, Member Relations Specialist; Yaritzabell Dorsey, Medical Assistant; Maria Ortiz, Registered Nurse.
La Comunidad Hispana (LCH) received approval for their conditional use agreement from the Oxford Borough Council last month. This sets in motion the plans for expanding LCH services to a new location downtown at 14 South 3rd Street (previously the Sewer Authority building). The new site, which is 5,351 square feet, will give the community health center much needed space to provide integrated health care, behavioral health, and community services under one roof. The current location at 303 North 3rd Street (The Eckman building) is only 1,275 square feet.
“This has been a part of our strategic planning for some time,” said Ted Trevorrow, Interim Director of Operations. “When we first opened our Oxford location in 2016, we knew that we would outgrow the space. I give a lot of credit to our staff and our patients in Oxford, who have been very creative in making the space work.” LCH currently serves over 8,000 community members in southern Chester County, with about 1,200 of their patients coming from the Oxford area. As a Federally Qualified Health Center, LCH provides care to all members of the community regardless of health insurance status or ability to pay.
The new space is not only larger, but also more accessible to the greater Oxford community. “We are thrilled to have found a space that is walkable and more central to town,” said Margarita Garay Zarco, Interim Co-CEO and Director of Human Resources. “At LCH, we have a long, proud history of addressing barriers to health care, and physical location is a significant factor for our patients.”
With the approval from the Oxford Borough Council, LCH is hopeful to complete construction in the coming months and open in early 2021. “We can’t wait to bring our fully integrated model of care to Oxford,” said Barbara Mancill, Interim Co-CEO and Director of Quality Care and Population Health. “The Oxford community has so much heart. LCH is proud to bring access to great health care to all our neighbors. We are so grateful for all of the support that the Oxford community has given us through this process.”
