A new health care center is on its way to the village of Hempstead.
The Hempstead Health Center will include family medicine, dental care, pediatrics, OBGYN care, behavioral health care and a small food pantry.
David Nemiroff, president and CEO of the Long Island Federally Qualified Health Centers, says the new facility will be 24,000-square feet and will cost nearly $11 million that is fully funded by federal and state money.
"It's open to the public, we take anybody regardless of their ability to pay so even uninsured individuals can come," Nemiroff says.
He says the health center will be able to see about 12,000 patients a year, almost twice the number of people getting health care services at the center's current location a little more than a mile away.
George Siberon, executive director of the Hempstead Hispanic Civic Association, says being able to refer people to an even larger health care center with more medical services will greatly benefit the community.
"Any benefit, any medical benefit that we could connect our people with those services, it really goes to help our community," Siberon says.
Nemiroff says if everything goes according to plan with construction and there are no supply chain disruption issues, the health center should be running by next year.