ABOUT SBH HEALTH AND WELLNESS CENTER
SBH Health System serves a low income and ethnically diverse population, with most of our patients covered by Medicaid. The average income for a family of four is well below the poverty level. Unemployment is high and educational levels low, as are the measures of health and wellness. The prevalence of obesity, asthma, diabetes and heart disease are the highest in New York City, as is the incidence of substance abuse, non-accidental trauma and behavioral health diagnoses.
For this reason we are making a significant investment in addressing the social determinants of health (SDOH) that we believe will begin to transform the health of the Bronx. We believe that by addressing the unmet SDOH – food insecurity, unsafe outdoor spaces, poor education, stress, and lack of health care coverage – we can support the healing needed to foster a healthier, happier and more productive population.
The Building Project
The project itself is a $156 million, mixed-use development that includes 314 affordable apartment units, a 50,000 square-foot health and wellness center, a multi-use community space with an outdoor landscaped terrace, and an integrative medicine space.
Ninety-five of the apartment units have been reserved for formerly homeless families and individuals, as well as those individuals identified as “high-utilizers” of the Medicaid system. The 50,000 square foot Health and Wellness Center will feature:
· The Healthplex Fitness Center. Hospitals can no longer merely respond to the symptoms of illness and injury. They must deal with the causes. The goal of the medical fitness center is to expand the limits of lifestyle and wellness modification through customized, closely monitored exercise programs for patients, the community and staff.
· The Teaching Kitchen and Center for Culinary Medicine. In a community besieged by obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, the goal of our team of nutritionists and chefs is to demonstrate the clear link between food and health by teaching people how to cook in a healthy and tasty way. After all, you are what you eat.
· A Rooftop Farm. Thousands of pounds of fresh, local produce will be grown and made available to those who live in a community where fresh and healthy food is hard to find. A bee farm will produce honey.
The SBH Health and Wellness Center will also include a children’s center, a women’s imaging center and a ModernMD Urgent Care Center.
The campaign is ambitious, but so is the mission of the center. It’s our way of investing in the community we serve. To help make this dream a reality, we need your help.
A Virtual Tour of The SBH Health and Wellness Center
ABOUT THE CENTER
Transforming Health
Welcome to the SBH Health and Wellness Center, which has never been more important that it is today. Every day, we witness the difficulty many of our patients face to stay healthy. A large percentage of people in the Bronx live at or below the federal poverty level, making nutritious food options inaccessible and unaffordable. Living in poverty, having little access to safe areas for recreational use, and experiencing food insecurity costs our patients their health and quality of life. This all adds to why the Bronx has one of the highest rates of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and malnutrition in America. Our community deserves better.
The goal of the SBH Health and Wellness center is to be a pioneer in supporting community access to a healthy life in the Bronx by providing nutritional education, access to healthy food, and fitness activities customized to our patients’ unique needs.