For Immediate Release
September 20, 2019
Contact: Toni Granato, NJPCA Communications Coordinator, (609) 689-9930 ex. 19 or tgranato@njpca.org; and Deb Bokas, LCSW MSW, Osborn Family Health Center Director of Behavioral Health, (856) 757-3542 or BokasD@lourdesnet.org.
Osborn Family Health Center Attains Status as Fully-Funded FQHC
On September 11, 2019, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced the 2019 New Access Point awards for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) nationwide. Osborn Family Health Center in Camden was one of the 77 awardees who received this grant. With this award, Osborn Family Health Center, which has been an FQHC look-alike since 2017, will become a fully-funded FQHC in Camden County.
“Osborn Administration and staff are delighted to achieve full FQHC designation! Camden and the surrounding neighborhoods served deserve quality healthcare. We will continue to challenge ourselves with innovative healthcare models while working closely with our Primary Care Association partners. Together, we can make a difference,” said Shawne Cuilla, Executive Director/CEO of Osborn Family Health Center.
In total, Health Centers across 23 states, Puerto Rico, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands received more than $50 million in funding. The New Access Point funding provides operational support for new organizations to become HRSA Health Center Program grantees and for existing Health Centers to establish new sites. According to HRSA, the funding will allow Health Centers to expand access to quality and comprehensive health care services for underserved populations in areas where access to affordable health care is limited.
Osborn Family Health Center was established in 1974 in a brownstone house on Haddon Avenue in Camden. The Health Center was named after the first Chief of Surgery at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center, Dr. Edward Osborn who donated the brownstone. During the first two years of operation, the center’s volume tripled. In 1976, Osborn moved into a renovated Studebaker show room across the street from the medical center. Osborn remained there until 1999.[1] The Health Center is now located at the Sister Elizabeth Corry Ambulatory Care Center. In 2017, Osborn received designation as an FQHC “look-alike.” Look-alikes operate and provide services consistent with Health Center program requirements, but do not receive Health Center funding.
About the New Jersey Primary Care Association
The New Jersey Primary Care Association (NJPCA) is an advocate for Community Health Centers as well as a provider of comprehensive education, training, and technical assistance to Health Centers in New Jersey. NJPCA represents 23 Federally Qualified Health Centers in New Jersey and their 134 satellite sites providing healthcare services to 559,653 people in New Jersey. For more information about NJPCA, please visit njpca.org.
Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), also known as Community Health Centers, are in every state across the nation. FQHCs are authorized under Section 330(A) of the Public Health Services Act to provide healthcare to the medically underserved. Many Community Health Centers and their sites are specially designated to serve the needs of special populations including homeless populations, public housing residents, migrant and seasonal farm workers, veterans and school-aged children. For more information about the HRSA Health Center Program, please visit bphc.hrsa.gov/about/index.html.
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[1] Osborn Family Health Center website.
