Family Health Center plans $9.3 million expansion

An expansion that will allow the Family Health Center in Kalamazoo to dramatically  increase the number of patients it can serve is set to get under way this spring.

The $9.3 million project also is one the center expects will encourage development in the Northside neighborhood.

Bid requests will be accepted in May for the 36,000-square-foot expansion of the health center at 117 W. Paterson Street that serves those without health insurance and those who receive federal Medicaid benefits.

Right now, Family Health Center serves 20,000 individuals of about 60,000 who need such services.

The expansion will be built with stimulus funds the Family Health Center received in October 2010. The greater space will make it possible for the center to hire 56 new employees. It currently employs 130 doctors, nurses and support staffers.

Family Health Center’s Kendra Stetser Rowe says they hope the expansion will have a positive domino effect on the neighborhood. “We hope that with more employees here it attracts new businesses,” she says.

Family Heath Center ultimately needs about $1.5 million to complete the center, but it expects that with such a healthy start in its fundraising to date that others will want to contribute. Foundations that provide matching funds for such projects are among those being contacted.

Another goal of the project is to provide a health center that patrons are proud to use, says Stetser Rowe. “We want people to be part of this the same way people are proud of  Borgess and Bronson,” she says.

Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Kendra Stetser Rowe, Family Health Center