It would supplement the school health center at Hillcrest Elementary School.
Ramenmta Cottrell
Frederick, Md (KM) Another health center could be coming to the western part of Frederick. On Thursday, the Board of Aldermen approved a contract with the consulting firm 330 Partners to conduct a feasibility study on this proposed facility. The amount being spent on this study is not to exceed $79,950.00.
“We currently have two funding sources to support this notion,” says Ramenta Cottrell, the Director of Housing and Human Services for Frederick. “We received about $1.5-million from a HRSA grant, and another approximately $600,000 from the Community Development Block Grant Funding.”
HRSA is the Health Resources and Services Administration which is part of the US Department of Health and Humans Services, and works to improve access to health care for the uninsured, isolated or medically vulnerable.
The City has a health center at 100 South Market Street. There’s also a school-based health center at Hillcrest Elementary School, which serves students and their younger siblings from. It also provides services to students at Lincoln, Waverly, North Frederick, Monocacy and Butterfly Ridge Elementary Schools. The proposed new facility would be located in the Route 40 corridor, or West Patrick Street.
Cottrell says she’s eager to see this new health center open. “One that will be close to our school-based health center which will really create opportunities for many of the students we serve and their families, ” she says. “Many of the families that we serve currently in downtown Frederick actually live in this side of Frederick. So to be able to bring the service to them would be a great service to the community.”
Alderman Ben MacShane expressed his support for this project. “Just the concept of increased brick and mortar health services on 40 is something to really clap and jump up and down for. And I will be.. . So thanks for bringing this forward,” he said.
The feasibility study is expected to take several months to complete.
By Kevin McManus