Burlington, Vermont - September 27, 2010
The largest expansion project in the history of Burlington's Community Health Center is officially underway.
The Health Center broke ground on the $11-million dollar plan Monday morning -- made possible by a $10.9 million dollar federal stimulus grant. Once complete, the center will double in size to 36-thousand square feet. That will allow the center to provide preventive health, mental and dental care to as many as 20-thousand patients. The center currently serves about 12-thousand people, the majority of them low income.
Steve Yurasits has been a patient for a decade and now serves on the Board. "I know one of the main things would be that I would be taking cabs over to the emergency room over by the hospital because I wouldn't have any other care and the stress of all that would just make me feel even worse. So just knowing that this is right here. I live in the Old North End so right across the street so I walk right across the street over here and it's just been a great experience," he said.
The Health Center says its new facility will be up and running by January of 2012.
Bridget Barry Caswell - WCAX News
