Mount Sinai celebrates grand opening of Harlem Health Center
NEW YORK - The Mount Sinai health system continues to move its mission towards more community-based services. This week administrators celebrated the grand opening of their new Harlem Health Center at 158 West 124th Street.
The building brings together physical, mental and specialized services neighbors say they need the most. From mental health to podiatry, the Harlem Health Center aims to address all the organs from head to toe.
"It's in the heart of Harlem, and we want it to be a home for many of our patients, and we believe we can provide a little bit of everything for both pediatrics and adults," said Berthe Erisnor, Mount Sinai Morningside's Ambulatory Services vice president.
"To me, Harlem has always been disenfranchised," patient Kenneth Teasly said in a video produced for the ribbon-cutting celebration.
Teasly started seeking the center's services after its soft opening in September.
"I like coming here," continued Teasly. "There's not many places I can say that, like where you wake up and say, oh, I've got an appointment or something, like grrr. But I do like coming here. It is like a home."
The new home of Mount Sinai's Institute of Advanced Medicine will study patient outcomes to combat health disparities directly, and work with local partners like First Corinthian Baptist Church's HOPE Center to expand its reach.
"Incorporating that voice of the community is really key, and that says that you're looking to work together, not just provide the services without being inclusive of what folks need," said HOPE Center executive director Dr. Lena Green.
The new connections made can generate a generational path towards healthy habits, envisioning new value in preventive care.
"In the spirit of providing wraparound services and offering a one-stop shop, we felt it was very important to ensure that dental was one of the components we provided," Erisnor said, showing the new dental wing that officially opened last week.
The center will soon open a specialty pharmacy as well for immediate prescription pickup.
The Harlem Health Center is welcoming new patients and those already within the Mount Sinai system.
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