In a perfect world, every pregnant woman would receive high quality prenatal care throughout the entire course of her pregnancy. Unfortunately, this is not always the scenario. The reality is that every single day, right within our own community, there are pregnant women who lack the financial and other resources to obtain traditional prenatal care. For more than 12 years, Huntington Hospital’s Dolan Family Health Center has been the place where all expectant mothers, regardless of their economic status or access to health insurance, could receive the high quality prenatal care necessary to provide their newborns with a healthy start in life.      

For the first time in its history, the Dolan Family Health Center is launching a fundraising campaign to underwrite the cost of expansion to accommodate the growing number of prenatal patients who rely on the Center for care. With a generous challenge grant from the Dolan Family Foundations, the entity that helped build the Center by providing it with a naming gift in 1995, the current fundraising campaign seeks to raise $350,000 from individuals, corporations, and foundations that support the Dolan Center’s mission.
           
“We view our role as helping put young families on the path to pursuing the American dream,” said Terence Smith, Administrator of the Center. “By helping to provide newborns with a safe and healthy start in life, we play a vital role in creating healthy families which are the backbone of our community.”
           
Huntington Hospital’s Dolan Family Health Center opened its doors in October 1995 as Long Island’s only privately owned, charitably supported, free standing facility dedicated to providing primary and preventive healthcare to uninsured and underinsured families. It is staffed by a core team of fully credentialed Huntington Hospital physicians, complemented by a cadre of licensed advanced practice nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and allied health professionals.
           
Since its inception, the Center’s staff has worked closely with civic, business and community leaders to ensure that the care provided is always culturally sensitive, without the impediment of financial or language barriers. The Center has grown to become a heavily utilized and valued community resource, logging more than 30,000 visits by men, women, and children each year, and hosting numerous free community lectures, health screenings, educational and outreach activities sponsored by both Huntington Hospital and other not-for-profit organizations.
           
In 2006, staff obstetricians delivered 376 babies, making the Dolan Family Health Center’s obstetrical program the second busiest of all Suffolk County health centers. Hospital planners predict that this growth trend will continue, requiring the Center to reconfigure existing, unfinished space within the facility and to add examination and waiting rooms. This expansion will also increase capacity in the adjacent Adult Medicine Department, which has also seen steady increases in patient visit volume.
           
If you would like to help the Dolan Family Health Center meet its latest challenge, you can make a tax-deductible donation by cash, check or credit card. For additional information, please call the Office of Development and Community Relations at (631) 351-7040 ext. 103.