There were wide smiles all around as State Sen. Gustavo Rivera (S.D. 33) and Union Community Health Center (UCHC) celebrated a $1,115,000 capital investment to renovate and expand UCHC’s dental clinic at 2021 Grand Concourse in The Bronx on Tuesday, Sept. 9.

According to UCHC, a nonprofit entity, the project will significantly improve access to dental care for Bronx residents by reducing wait times and increasing service capacity. UCHC officials said the center, a Federally Qualified Health Center or FQHC, has served the health care needs of The Bronx for more than 115 years, providing care to nearly 40,000 patients annually.

In addition to comprehensive primary and specialty care, they said the center operates one of the largest dental practices in The Bronx and in New York City, serving patients with Medicaid and Medicare through one of the City’s most extensive oral health programs. They said UCHC provides around 180,000 visits each year to around 40,000 individual patients throughout The Bronx from its five locations and two mobile medical and dental health centers.

They added that in 2024 alone, the center’s dental department, in partnership with its partner, St. Barnabas Hospital, handled nearly 50,000 visits and yet they said patients across The Bronx continue to face significant delays due to overwhelming demand and space constraints.

Dr. Douglas York, PhD, MPH, president & CEO of UCHC said, “This investment represents more than bricks and mortar – it’s a commitment to access, addressing a severe shortage of dental services in the Bronx. Bronx families deserve superior quality care that is timely, accessible, and delivered in an environment designed for their needs. This project brings us closer to that goal.”

York said UCHC had done an outstanding job of meeting dental demand in The Bronx, adding that the wait time for a dentist for a Medicaid patient in The Bronx was double that of a primary care appointment. “Dental issues are at an all-time high for our community and with the senator’s support and guidance and generosity, we’re here to help meet that demand.” he said, adding that the center expected to bring in hundreds of new patients a week.

He said the funding allowed the project to get off the ground imminently and that services would be brought online very quickly, estimating it would be operable within around three months and would also go a long way in helping to deal with many dental emergencies.

During the check presentation, held at UCHC’s East 188th Street location, Rivera, chair of the State senate health committee, said he was proud to allocate funding towards the investment in dental care access for his district which broadly covers some or all of North Riverdale, Riverdale, Mosholu, Fieldston, Spuyten Duyvil, Norwood, Bedford Park, Kingsbridge Heights, Fordham, Belmont, Little Yemen, Van Nest, Pelham Parkway, and Allerton.

The senator said funding centers like UCHC underscored the importance of neighborhood-based solutions that address structural inequities in healthcare. “This clinic expansion reflects the kind of bold, community-rooted investment needed to close persistent gaps in healthcare,” he said. “I’m proud to devote funds to community-based facilities like Union Community Health Center to ensure that Bronx residents receive timely, high-quality care in a space that respects their dignity and embodies the values of a more equitable health system.”

According to UCHC officials, the project will feature an expanded dental clinic with four additional operatories, reducing wait times and improving care delivery. They said it is also part of a broader transformation of the Grand Concourse site that will co-locate dental, primary care, pediatrics, OB/GYN, behavioral health, and UCHC’s mother-child center, creating a single-site model of integrated, equitable care that they said is rarely available in historically underserved communities.

Reminiscing on his 15-year tenure as a state senator, Rivera said UCHC was one of the places he first visited to learn about how health care is delivered in places like The Bronx, as well as what FCHCs were, how they function, and how essential they are.

According to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), FQHCs qualify for funding under Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act (PHS), qualify for enhanced reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid, as well as other benefits, serve an underserved area or population, offer a sliding fee scale, and provide comprehensive services (either on-site or by arrangement with another provider).

Such services include preventive health services, dental services, mental health and substance abuse services, transportation services necessary for adequate patient care, and hospital and specialty care. FQHCs also have an ongoing quality assurance program and have a governing board of directors.

The senator noted that with public funding, there was always a quid pro quo. “The quid pro quo is to continue to serve the people of The Bronx to the best of your ability, make sure that you serve those folks who might not have access to anywhere else, and do it with the highest level of care and compassion, and continue to do that,” he said in part.

“I’m very glad to be able to see this expansion and something that gets to be done immediately,” Rivera added. He later remarked wryly how some insurance companies consider teeth “luxury bones” which he said was insane to him. “It’s the reason why places like this are so essential,” he concluded.

For his part, the very softly spoken Dr. Joseph Lopinto, who currently oversees the existing dental program, thanked all those responsible for the expansion of the program. “We can actually take care of older people in our neighborhood,” he said. He said each resident saw about six to ten patients a day.

Asked if poor nutrition played a role in the dental issues he and his colleagues were treating, Lopinto told Norwood News, “A lot of it is decay and it’s rampant. We have a lot of people who have had treatment from outside the country that we can see is not up to our standards and we have to redo it to take care of people. Problem solving is a lot of what we do.”

Asked about staffing numbers, he said, “We have seven assistants, two front desk people, one manager and a couple of ancillary people too.”

Construction on the project is expected to begin shortly with UCHC officials saying they will ensure uninterrupted services for patients throughout the renovation process. They added that the expansion also offers residents access to comprehensive and responsive care in a welcoming and modern setting.

UCHC officials said its mission is to serve the community with informed, innovative, and outcome-oriented health care services, designed and delivered to improve the health of Bronx residents. The center offers comprehensive primary and specialty health care services including but not limited to adult and pediatrics, urgent care, physical and occupational therapy, behavioral health, dental services and most specialty services.

For decades, Bronx health initiatives have prioritized addressing and confronting evidence-based inequities, given that, as reported, the borough continues to rank last out of New York State’s 62 counties when it comes to the health of its residents. Challenging entrenched systems of institutional bias has been central to combating health and social disparities in The Bronx according to health experts and the Bronx Social Care Network (BSCN) strives to be the catalyst for borough-wide transformation.

BSCN’s leadership team says it’s committed to addressing the social determinants of health in the borough. With over 200 years of combined experience in healthcare delivery and socially conscious, culturally sensitive programming, the network serves as the medical home for more than 500,000 Bronx residents, providing care over 2 million times annually.

Bronx Social Care Network Steering Committee Members are as follows:

1. Urban Health Plan (Lead Organization)
2. BCHN Health
3. Community Healthcare Network
4. Morris Heights Health Center
5. Mosaic Mental Health
6. Ryan Health
7. Sun River Health
8. The Institute for Family Health
9. VIP Community Services
10. Union Community Health Center