Memphis Health Center (MHC) is ramping up to plans to hire additional staff and accommodate more patients in the Memphis area once work is complete on the $6 million renovation and expansion of its Crump Boulevard facility in South Memphis. Construction on the revamped preventative and primary health care clinic topped out on August 12, and work is scheduled to be complete next July.
"The expansion will allow us to provide more access to the citizens of Memphis and Shelby County," says MHC CEO Willeen Hastings. "Our primary emphasis will be on improving our patient flow process and improving the delivery of the internal support to all of the clinical operations."
Attendees of the top-out ceremony included Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell Jr., Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr., state representatives Steve Cohen and G.A. Hardaway, District Attorney General Amy Weirich, Shelby County Trustee David Lenoir, City Councilman Harold Collins, City Councilman Myron Lowery, and Shelby County Public Affairs Officer Steve Shular.
CB Richard Ellis Memphis is managing the 31,000-square-foot project,
A2H Architects handled the design and
B&B Specialty Contractors is the general contractor. Construction began last October.
"The capital improvement project will include complete renovation of the center's exterior shell, new exterior signage with enhanced street-level visibility, re-design of its interior layout including a newly designed front desk area, modernization of all examination rooms and replacement of outdated dental, medical and mammography equipment," explains Hastings.
The project is funded by a $4.7 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration, along with a $250,000 donation from the
Assisi Foundation of Memphis, $10,000 from
Brown Baptist Missionary Church and financial contributions from local business, foundations, private citizens, the Board of Governors and employees of MHC.
The center, which was founded in 1970 with the goal of increasing access to comprehensive primary and preventative healthcare and reducing health disparities in medically underserved areas, serves approximately 15,000 patients per year. Hastings expects that number to grow to more than 20,000 patients served per year in the next few years.
To accommodate the growth, the clinic will add to its current 118-person staff by hiring two new physicians and at least six new support staff beginning next summer.
By Michael Waddell
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.