Neighborhood Health Center of WNY is addressing a need for high quality, affordable primary care in Buffalo with the opening of its newest site in North Buffalo. Neighborhood Health Center renovated a vacant former urgent care facility at 2497 Delaware Avenue, and is now seeing adult and pediatric primary care patients at the site, which also offers nutrition and behavioral health services to patients.  

The new site is Neighborhood’s seventh location in Western New York. Prior to expanding, Neighborhood conducted a community needs analysis and identified a need in the area for high quality primary care that welcomes everyone. The new site will serve new patients as well as offer another option for existing Neighborhood patients since the four other Neighborhood sites in the city of Buffalo are at or near capacity. The new site gives Neighborhood the capacity for 18,000 additional patient visits annually. 

“There are many people in our city who don’t currently have a primary care provider,” said Joanne Haefner, Neighborhood Health Center President and CEO. “We’ve proven that people have better health outcomes when they get patient-centered primary care and preventive services, and they avoid more costly care choices, such as emergency rooms and hospital stays. We want each person to feel welcome and heard, and to be able to achieve their highest level of health and wellbeing.”  

The Health Resources & Services Administration ranks Neighborhood as the top health center for quality in Western New York, among the top statewide, and in the top 20% nationwide. In patient surveys, Neighborhood has a 95% overall satisfaction score. 

NYS Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, NYS Assemblymembers Jon Rivera and William Conrad, and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz joined Neighborhood  leadership for a ceremonial ribbon cutting on Monday, August 3 during National Health Center Week. “I have long been a supporter of Federally Qualified Health Centers and, to that end, it is great to see Neighborhood Health Center expand its health care services to the North Buffalo area. Patient-centered care and preventative services improve health outcomes and improve people’s quality of life. The new clinic on Delaware Avenue is a necessary and welcome expansion, and good work will come from it,” said Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes. 

“Every family deserves access to high-quality, affordable healthcare close to home, and the opening of Neighborhood Health Center’s new location in North Buffalo is a major step forward in making that a reality. By transforming a vacant building into a state-of-the-art primary care facility, Neighborhood Health Center is expanding access to essential medical, behavioral health, and nutrition services for thousands of Western New Yorkers. As demand for primary care continues to grow, this investment will help connect more residents with preventive care, improve health outcomes, and reduce reliance on costly emergency services,” said Assemblymember Jon D. Rivera. 

“Every Western New Yorker deserves access to quality, affordable health care close to home,” said Congressman Tim Kennedy, whose schedule prevented him from attending the ribbon cutting. “Neighborhood Health Center has spent decades proving that communitybased care changes lives, and this new North Buffalo location will connect thousands more families with the primary, behavioral, and preventive care they need, when they need it. I'm proud to support this expansion because investing in community health centers means investing in healthier neighborhoods, stronger families, and a brighter future for Western New York.”

Neighborhood worked with Colby Development to facilitate the purchase of the Delaware Avenue property, and Kirst Construction on the renovations. New patients are welcome at all Neighborhood locations, with or without insurance. Those who are uninsured or underinsured can apply for Neighborhood’s sliding fee program, which is based on income and household size. Neighborhood Health Center is Western New York’s largest and longest serving Federally Qualified Health Center, caring for the community since 1987. Neighborhood serves as the primary care home for more than 34,000 patients and offers internal/family medicine, pediatrics, OB-GYN, podiatry, dentistry, vision care, psychiatry, behavioral health and nutrition counseling, and pharmacy. No one is turned away for inability to pay.