PIDC Funds Renovation and Expansion of Delaware Valley Community Health’s New Family Medicine Residency Program

by Rachel Hazzard
October 22, 2024

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Delaware Valley Community Health (DVCH) is a community health center that’s been providing  affordable, accessible, culturally competent healthcare services throughout the Delaware Valley Region for over 50 years. A mainstay in the city, DVCH helps patients regardless of their ability to pay at the time of service. 

DVCH has nine neighborhood locations, seven of which are located in Philadelphia. What began as a satellite operation of Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital is now a privately owned and operated non-profit organization. Their culturally sensitive and respectful healthcare services include adult and family medicine, pediatrics, women’s health care, behavioral health, dental health, social work, health education and other general medical services.

Photo credit: Brawer Hauptman + Larkin Architects and D’Lauro & Rodgers

The center recently made the strategic decision to implement a Family Medicine Residency Program, making them the first Teaching Health Center in Philadelphia. In order to launch this residency program, DVCH needed financing to renovate and expand its Fairmount Primary Care Center, located at 1412 Fairmount Avenue. PIDC was proud to support the center, helping them expand their affordable, accessible, primary medical, dental, and behavioral health care and preventive services.

PIDC provided DVCH with $4 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation and a $1.1 million participation loan, which was purchased from Community Health Center Capital Fund, a national CDFI supporting community-based health centers. The NMTC Program is designed to attract private investment to distressed communities by providing investors with a Federal tax credit. NMTC investments help revitalize underserved communities through transformational projects, programs, and development. 

“The buildout of our Fairmount space will be providing space dedicated to the residents which will have a big impact on their ability to collaborate with each other and grow the culture of our residents. This space will allow for more residents to see patients at Fairmount, therefore also having a significant impact on patient access and medical education.”

Dr. Brent Simmon
Chief Graduate Medical Education Officer

“The buildout of our Fairmount space will be providing space dedicated to the residents which will have a big impact on their ability to collaborate with each other and grow the culture of our residents,” said Dr. Brent Simmons, Chief Graduate Medical Education Officer. “This space will allow for more residents to see patients at Fairmount, therefore also having a significant impact on patient access and medical education.”

DVCH already plays a crucial role in delivering comprehensive adult primary care as well as behavioral health and medication assisted treatment (MAT) for substance use disorder, with a focus on accessibility.  79 percent of the centers’ patients are low income, 31 percent are uninsured, 50 percent use Medicaid, and 75 percent are racial or ethnic minorities. All services are provided in a fiscally responsible manner.  The new Family Medicine Residency Program will not only teach physicians to dedicate themselves to the care of underserved patients and their communities, but will also allow the center to increase the number of  patients served annually by 30 percent, for a total of approximately 208,000 individuals. 

Photo credit: Delaware Valley Community Health

In addition to the direct impact to patients, this project will also help spur economic growth. It will create and retain 133 full-time  jobs and 37 construction jobs, all for individuals in the community. All full-time jobs will pay above a living wage and offer health and dental insurance, retirement benefits, PTO, and tuition reimbursement. Over 50 percent of these jobs are accessible to those without a college degree.

We’re thrilled to support this exciting new development for Delaware Valley Community Health and look forward to their bright future.

CAPITAL YOU NEED TO GROW

The New Markets Tax Credit Program (NMTC Program) helps economically distressed communities attract private capital by providing investors with a Federal tax credit. PIDC Community Capital, a private, nonprofit subsidiary of PIDC, makes loans and investments to businesses operating in low-income communities through the NMTC Program.

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