Council President Clarke celebrates construction of Stephen Klein Wellness Center in North Philly

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Philadelphia, Jan. 29, 2014 – Council President Darrell L. Clarke (5th District), Mayor Michael Nutter and Gov. Tom Corbett were among the dignitaries on hand to celebrate the groundbreaking of a fully integrated, 30,000-square-foot wellness center on Cecil B. Moore Avenue in the Strawberry Mansion section of Philadelphia.

The Stephen Klein Wellness Center will offer physical and behavioral health services for homeless men, women and children, and residents in an area where half of the people live in poverty and almost a third in extreme poverty. The Center is a partnership between Project HOME, Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, Inc., Jefferson Medical College Department of Family and Community Medicine, the Middleton Partnership and Stephen Klein. It expands the health care services that Project HOME, with Jefferson Family Medicine, have been providing to formerly homeless and low-income people in North Philadelphia. Named for its lead funder, a champion of this project for years, the Stephen Klein Wellness Center will include primary care, behavioral health, dental care, a pharmacy and a Philadelphia Freedom Valley YMCA with babysitting services.

“Many of us know firsthand that the difference between a life of productivity and a life of struggle is as simple as good physical and behavioral health. The addition of Stephen Klein Wellness Center to this area means thousands of men, women and children will have additional opportunities to get healthy and stay healthy,” Council President Clarke said. “Healthier Philadelphians are more productive Philadelphians, and this Center will help build a stronger, more prosperous North Philadelphia.”

The Stephen Klein Wellness Center will expand Project HOME’s health care to the community from a former rectory to a building stretching almost a full block – providing all critical health and wellness services under one roof. The Center is located across the street from the MLK Recreation Center, which serves children and families in the community, and will also be joined by a new center for seniors, thanks to land and funding secured by Council President Clarke.

 

 

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