水果派AV

East Hill Medical Center, a federally qualified health center that serves more than 6,000 Auburn residents and nearly 9,000 Cayuga County residents, will receive $1 million to support its relocation from Metcalf Plaza in downtown Auburn to a 26,000-square-foot space in Sennett. The community health center acquired the building in November and plans to move many of its practices there in 2027.

Jessica Soule, chief operating officer at East Hill Medical Center, told 水果派AV Wednesday the funding provided by the Northern Border Regional Commission will support the renovation of the Grant Avenue building. The project is in the design phase 鈥� East Hill is working with an architectural firm, Soule said 鈥� and while there isn't an updated estimate for the total project, the first phase is expected to cost around $7.5 million.

East Hill Medical Center was established in 1970. The nonprofit's headquarters was at its North Fulton Street location, which is now home to its family and pediatric medicine practice, before moving to Metcalf Plaza in the 1990s.

The downtown Auburn building houses East Hill's administrative offices, adult medicine, behavioral health and dental practices. Soule explained that while it is a large building in a prime location, its setup is "not conducive to the growth of the organization."

"The actual clinical spaces are limited to eight treatment rooms for each practice," she said. "With the number of providers we currently have, and the many who have expressed interest in working with us in the future, we need more treatment rooms, larger waiting rooms and more workstations to support care teams."

As East Hill explored options, the Grant Avenue building was available. Soule said it was an easy decision to buy it because it will allow the nonprofit to accommodate more providers. The renovation, she continued, will "create a warm, welcoming building that will allow us to grow to keep up with community demand, with a design that promotes better collaboration among staff, which was missing from our multi-story building."

East Hill's relocation is one of 14 projects in upstate New York that will be supported by the Northern Border Regional Commission, a federal-state partnership that encourages economic development in Maine, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont. New York's U.S. senators, Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer, announced more than $12.3 million in total funding for the projects.

Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said in a statement that the funding will support expanding access to health care and infrastructure upgrades. Schumer, D-N.Y., added that the federal investments will help create jobs and boost quality of life in the region.

"We're thrilled to be able to use this money to create a state-of-the-art facility for our community and we're so thankful to receive this funding," said Dr. Adam Duckett, East Hill's chief medical officer.