NYU langone Family Health Centers Expands into Red Hook to Enhance Access to High-Quality Healthcare

Original article published in NYU Langone Health’s News Hub.

Continuing its mission to bring top-quality, community-based healthcare to New Yorkers and reduce health inequities, the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone is expanding in Red Hook, Brooklyn, with the opening of a state-of-the art medical facility and new school-based clinic.

Red Hook has a high concentration of Medicaid-eligible New Yorkers with limited access to high-quality healthcare.

“Our presence in Red Hook helps meet the needs of this underserved community,” says Larry K. McReynolds, executive director of the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone, which provides affordable, quality care primarily in Sunset Park and Flatbush, as well as through schools and shelters citywide. “Working closely with nonprofit groups in Red Hook, a neighborhood that is home to New York’s largest public housing development, the care team will provide wellness, preventive care, and health education for local residents.”

The team at the new, nearly 4,500-square-foot Red Hook Family Health Center at NYU Langone provides primary care, pediatrics, women’s health, behavioral health, and dental care services. Support services are also available on-site, connecting patients to social and health networks to address food insecurity and offer workforce development opportunities. Lab work and dental imaging are also performed on-site. The Red Hook Family Health Center at NYU Langone will also provide patients with access to multilingual translation services.

“Residents of this area are coping with higher-than-average rates of chronic illnesses such as diabetes, asthma, and high blood pressure. Additionally, Red Hook has truly been a dental desert,” says Isaac P. Dapkins, MD, chief medical officer of the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone. “Our role here as a community-based health provider will be not just to bring needed primary and other healthcare, but to encourage better health management through screenings and preventive care.”

One of the largest Federally Qualified Health Center networks in the state, the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone will staff its new Red Hook site with a site director, medical director, physicians, and staff, including dental assistants, nurses, practice managers, and administrative staff.

“I am pleased that the residents of Red Hook will now have access to quality healthcare in their own neighborhood, something we have all advocated hard for,” says New York City Council Member Alexa Avilés. “I look forward to this facility ramping up in the months ahead to offer robust services to residents regardless of their ability to pay. Through this partnership, we will continue to build a stronger and healthier Red Hook.”

The Red Hook Family Health Center at NYU Langone is open weekdays at 168 Van Brunt Street. In addition to the outpatient care center, the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone will also open a second school-based clinic at PS 676 in Red Hook in the coming months. The School Health Program—Family Health Centers at NYU Langone provides medical, mental health, dental, and vision services, along with health education, directly to children and adolescents, ensuring that healthcare is accessible and convenient for children and families. The Family Health Centers at NYU Langone also operates a school-based clinic in PS 15 in Red Hook, as well as more than 50 other school-based health clinics citywide.

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