Press Releases
DATE: 24 June 2009
RELEASE NO: 09-21
Grace Hill breaks ground on new Water Tower Health Center
Larger facility will increase access to patient care
St. Louis City Alderman Freeman Bosley, Sr.; Grace Hill Neighborhood Health Centers Vice Presidents Dr. Yolette Brown and Veronica Richardson; Grace Hill Settlement House President/CEO Roderick Jones; Health Center board member Sandra Mahr; Health Center President/CEO Alan O. Freeman; Missouri State Senator Robin Wright-Jones; Health Center Board Chair Robert Jacobson; John Mueller with Arcturis; and Joe McKee with Paric Construction turn the dirt on the new Grace Hill Water Tower Health Center June 24, 2009. Photo by Gerald Sonnenberg
St. Louis City Ward 3 Alderman Freeman Bosley, Sr. addresses a crowd of more than 150 people during the groundbreaking of Grace Hill Neighborhood Health Centers’ new Water Tower Health Center, June 24. Photo by Gerald Sonnenberg
By Mr. Gerald Sonnenberg
ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Today, the board of directors and staff of Grace Hill Neighborhood Health Centers (GHNHC) hosted a groundbreaking event for its new Grace Hill Water Tower Health Center facility at 4414 N. Florissant. They were joined by their sister organization, the Grace Hill Settlement House, several regional officials, patients and residents of the North St. Louis neighborhood.
The 10 a.m. ceremony was attended by more than 150 people despite the heat and humidity.
Alan O. Freeman, GHNHC President/CEO, welcomed Missouri State Senator Robin Wright-Jones and St. Louis City Ward 3 Alderman Freeman Bosley, Sr. to the podium for ceremonial remarks. The offices of Mayor Slay, Senators Bond and McCaskill, U.S. Congressional Representatives Clay and Carnahan, and Missouri State Representatives Chris Carter and James Morris were represented by staff members. Missouri State Representatives Tishaura Jones and Jeanette Mott Oxford were able to attend.
Construction on the new 18,600 square foot facility began this month and is scheduled to be completed by the summer of 2010. The larger, state-of-the-art facility will provide added capacity for doctors, dentists and other clinicians. GHNHC anticipates increasing access to care by at least 30 percent.
The previous Grace Hill Water Tower facility was lost when fire raged through the Grand Plaza Shopping Center on April 16. The structure was condemned by the City and will be demolished. On June 22, the Water Tower staff and services began operating from the Grace Hill Hadley Health Center, a clinic site that will be open for service in the North City until the new Water Tower facility is constructed.
Two million dollars in funding for the project was provided through an appropriation by the Missouri State Legislature. The expenditure was endorsed by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon during a press conference at Grace Hill on Feb. 13, 2009. The architectural firm Arcturis designed the new facility, and Paric Construction will be the general contractor.
A part of St. Louis for more than 100 years, Grace Hill Health Centers, Inc. (GHHC) is a federally qualified health center and provides low-cost, primary and preventive health care at six locations to primarily low-income and uninsured residents in the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County. GHHC is accredited through the Joint Commission.
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