For Immediate Release:  May 19, 2011

Washington, DC—The District of Columbia Primary Care Association (DCPCA) participated yesterday in the grand opening of a new Mary’s Center site in Ward 4, located at 3912 Georgia Avenue NW.  The community health center officially opened for business on March 1, 2011.

Also participating in the grand opening program were DC Mayor Vincent C. Gray; Councilmember David A. Catania, chair of the Committee on Health; DC Councilmember Muriel Bowser (Ward 4); Sharon A. Baskerville, chief executive officer, DC Primary Care Association; Maria Gomez, president/chief executive officer, Mary’s Center; Julie Martinez Ortega, board chair, Mary’s Center; Jacqueline Lessington, former client, Mary’s Center; David Dzidzienyo, Petworth Action Committee; Derek Harps, vice president, M&T Bank; Reverend Aisha Karimah; and Washington Redskins Quarterback Donovan McNabb and his family.

“DCPCA granted $11.625 million – nearly 70 percent of the project costs – as part of its Medical Homes DC grant program to Mary’s Center.  This grant came with significant technical assistance from DCPCA’s advisors in finance and real estate development,” DCPCA Chief Executive Officer Sharon A. Baskerville explained.

Mary’s Center combined the grant from DCPCA with funds the health center was awarded from the DC Office of State Superintendent of Education and New Market Tax Credits (NMTC) to finance the $16.7 million project with minimal debt.  “This is the second capital project brokered where a DCPCA grant was leveraged with a NMTC to allow for as little debt as possible.  DCPCA also helped Mary’s Center to identify the relevant financial consultants and tax attorneys to get the deal done,” Baskerville said.

With a grant from DCPCA, Mary’s Center was able to enter into a purchase agreement with the developer that allowed the health center to loan the money to the developer at zero percent interest.  This ultimately led to a reduction in project costs by allowing the developer to avoid the need to secure private financing for Mary Center’s base building.  This was particularly important at a time when the recession was making private financing difficult to secure.

The Georgia Avenue site will become Mary Center’s largest community health center of their four facilities, with 26,000 square feet of space featuring 22 exam rooms and five dental chairs, as well as new spaces for mental health, adolescent, home visitation, social services, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and family literacy programs.  This new facility will permit Mary’s Center to see approximately 20,000 patients annually – up from about 11,000 per year.

“Mary’s Center is also one of the six community health centers that participated as early adopters of electronic health records through a health information technology project initiated by DCPCA, and is connected to the first health information exchange operating in the District of Columbia,” Baskerville added.  A program of DCPCA, eHealthDC provides EHR technical expertise to support medical practices in the assessment, selection, implementation, meaningful use of federally-certified EHR technology, and federal incentive payments for practitioners.

Located on the first floor and mezzanine levels of the 3Tree Flats development, Mary’s Center is part of a mixed-use development project.  Above the community health center, market-rate and affordable rental housing units were built through a joint venture of JAIR LYNCH Development Partners and Affordable Housing Developers, Inc.  Mary’s Center and JAIR LYNCH Development Partners entered into a joint development relationship, brokered by DCPCA staff.

This new facility is the second major expansion project largely funded by DCPCA’s Capital Projects initiative.  DCPCA’s first major capital expansion project was Bread for the City’s medical clinic, which opened in December 2010 and celebrated its grand opening and ribbon-cutting on January 7, 2011.

DCPCA is a nonprofit health care reform organization founded in 1996 to improve the health of DC’s vulnerable residents by ensuring that they receive high quality primary health care – regardless of their ability to pay.  DCPCA represents 14 primary care providers in 48 sites across the District of Columbia.  DCPCA – action and innovation for health equity.  Medical Homes DC program is made possible in part by generous support from the DC Department of Health.

Contact:  Karen A. Szulgit, DCPCA Senior Communications Specialist, (202) 638-0252, extension 214

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