Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Delivers Remarks at Grand Opening of Third Avenue Family Health Center

April 21, 2016

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Thank you so much, Pete. I just want to say – Pete, you really should be proud of what you’re doing here. We just took this tour of this amazing facility. And the notion that people can come in from the community and get such an extraordinary range of care under one roof, can literally have a family come in – if they need a physical check-up, if they need dental care, they need mental health services – can all be taken care of under one roof. Different members of the family can all be served at the same time. I mean, this is an amazing, amazing center and it’s going to make a profound impact on the healthcare of the people of the Bronx. And it’s going to help people not have to go to the emergency room and seek urgent care because they can get the primary and preventative care they need here. So, this is a very big deal. This is the kind of thing we want to see a lot more of all over New York City.

I want to thank you, Pete. I want to thank everyone who helped to make this center possible – really appreciate the great efforts of you and your team. And it is a great day for the Bronx – the Damian Family Care Center – again, it’s a different model. This is the kind of thing we want to see more of. And the fact that this is going to provide for 10,000 community residents, and we’re saying at least 100,000 visits. Right? 10,000 community residents will be served each year – 100,000 visits or more each year. This center will be a real difference maker.

We just took a tour, as I said. I’ve seen very few places like this where everything can be achieved under one roof. I want to just say – and if my wife, Chirlane, were here she would say it – a particular appreciation to the folks at Damian that they included mental health services. And that includes not only psychiatric services for adults, but for children as well. And a lot of what Chirlane is trying to do with the ThriveNYC plan is focus on the mental health needs of our children – reach our young people and address these issues early, and that can happen here at Damian.

Mentioned 10,000 folks – and that includes children who go to the nearby public schools. There’s two public schools right next door. There’s three public housing developments right around this center. So, that means much higher quality-care for folks who live right here and for kids who go to school right here.

Also, so important to say – we believe that everyone needs care, regardless of documentation status, regardless of ability to pay, or what type of insurance they have. And Pete, thank you for holding to that standard. This is a place where anyone can come in and know they’ll get care.

I want to thank some folks who have been key in making this possible – someone who I have, literally, worked with for over 30 years now. Where are you, Louise? Louise Cohen, CEO of Primary Care Development Corporation – 30-plus years, we’ve been working together. You wouldn’t know it.

[Laughter]

All right, and Suzanne Rossel, Senior Vice President of Community Healthcare Association of New York State. We thank you very, very much for your support for this initiative.

We’ve talked about this center – in particular during the State of the City address in February – that this would be one of the first to open. It would be an example of a new and different kind of care. And we believe that this is one of the ways that we address inequality. Inequality takes many, many forms. One of the most damaging forms of inequality is unequal access to healthcare. One of the ways you address that is to make it easier for people to access healthcare, and to make sure that no one is discriminated against on the basis of the ability to pay. This kind of model, we think is going to be key in our efforts to address inequality. Not only because it’s more fairness and equality in the healthcare services, but it’s also going to make it easier for kids to stay healthy so they can go to school, for families to stay healthy so folks who are working can keep their jobs and thrive.

So, we know that there are real severe challenges in this community. We talked with Pete earlier about the challenge of asthma. We talked about the challenge of diabetes, and the particular impact that has on our children. We know, of the 62 counties in New York State, the Bronx unfortunately has the worst health care indicators. We know we’re going to have to invest to turn that around.

Again, the goal is to reach people early to address problems preventatively – to not end up with lots of folks in the emergency room when a problem has gotten really bad. And these kinds of clinics are so easy to use. You can tell coming in the door – it’s just an easy, positive experience that’s going to encourage people to access healthcare. This is what we were talking about in the State of the City address about the need to create a different model, and make it available in places like the Bronx.

We will continue with our efforts to also create parity. I mentioned how important the mental health piece is. We want, in everything we do, to send a message that the parity between mental health services and physical health services. There’s still, as Chirlane has talked about a lot, there’s a stigma we have to breakdown. We want the families walking into the door here at Damian to have the message received that it is absolutely right and appropriate to seek whatever help you need. There’s no problem. There’s no stigma. There’s no difference. If you happen to have a mental health need, it’s the same – as Chirlane always says – if you broke your leg, no one questions that you need to go to the doctor. Well, the same is true with mental health services. And a place that’s warm and inviting helps to send that message of parity. We’re very, very focused on that.

This is part of a $20 million, five-borough initiative to create or expand 16 community health centers in underserved neighborhoods by the end of next year. And this here – this center, as I said, is going to be able to reach 10,000 patients per year. The overall plan is to reach over 100,000 patients and to bring a lot of new patients in who currently are not getting care. So, that larger plan is to reach a lot of folks who are going without that primary and preventative care – again, sadly, ending up in the emergency room too often.

We’re going to hear from Robin DeSisso in minute, and she’s going to talk about what this kind of healthcare means to her, what it means to be able to access it so easily. She lives here in the community. She’s going to give you a view from the grassroots of what this is going to mean for people in the community.

But I have to tell you, we know the multiplier effect is going to be amazing. We know this is the kind of investment that we’ll look back on, and know was the right thing to do because it’s going to help improve people’s lives in so many ways, and again, create opportunity. When people are healthy, they can pursue their opportunities, their goals, their potential. And that’s our job to help make sure people are healthy from the beginning.

A few words in Spanish –

[The Mayor speaks in Spanish]

With that, it’s my particular pleasure to bring forward Robin DeSisso, so you can hear what it means to her to have healthcare available right here in her community.

Robin.

[Applause]