Thumbs up from Cardinal Dolan during ceremonial ribbon cutting
(photo: Orysia Dmytrenko)
GOSHEN – New York Archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan came to the Farmworkers Health Center, The Alamo, in Goshen’s Black Dirt region on Wednesday afternoon to bless a new 33-foot mobile health center containing medical equipment and examination space. The vehicle will travel the lower Hudson Valley providing primary care and other essential services to agricultural workers, the frail and elderly, and other underserved groups who may defer medical attention because of a lack of transportation, limited funds or the inability to leave their work without jeopardizing their livelihoods.
Cardinal Dolan said that this mobile health center was the result of a collaborative effort, celebrated at Wednesday’s ribbon cutting.
“I thank God for the spending community cooperation and partnership that is so evident today,” he said. “This is an icon of what people of good will can do when we come together. We’ve got political leaders, we’ve got religious leaders, we’ve got healthcare workers and we have the brilliant cooperation between the Archdiocese through ArchCare and HRH. Look what we can do if we come together.”
The outfitted medical van, funded by the healthcare ministry of the Archdiocese of New York, ArchCare, will visit farms, community agencies, parishes and other faith communities, in several locations. It will be staffed and operated by the not-for-profit HRHCare, formerly known as Hudson River Healthcare, one of the nation’s largest community health providers, which will deliver care, regardless of a patient’s ability to pay, in addition to health education and connect patients with ongoing services at HRHCare’s local health services if needed.
Orange County’s Commissioner of Health Dr. Eli Avila said the most important thing about Wednesday’s event was how healthcare will now be going out to those in our area who are needy, the marginalized. He said it shows “how government and religious groups can work together and bring positive things to the community.”
The mobile health center on wheels already began visiting communities in the Hudson Valley in May. It will continue to operate year-round, weather permitting, and expects to serve more than 1,800 patients annually throughout the region.
A schedule of the mobile health center’s upcoming locations will be available at www.hrhcare.org/mobilehealth or by calling 1-844-HRH-Care (1-844-474-2273).
