Rosa Health Center celebrates expansion with groundbreaking ceremony
GEORGETOWN, Del. – In Georgetown Tuesday, the Rosa Health Center celebrated a special milestone.
They held a groundbreaking ceremony, taking the first step towards expanded health care for those who need it most in the area.
Medical Director Dr. Rama Peri reflected on how far they had come since opening the doors at their current location in 2015, saying, “I can’t describe to you what it was like when we started because we basically had nothing.”
Since October of 2015, Dr. Peri and her staff have been offering low- or no-cost health care to under-served communities in Delaware.
They work out of a repurposed single-family home, accommodating over 2000 visits a year. The office has two exam rooms, both converted from old bedrooms.
As word of their services spread and their slate of patients grew, so did their need for a new physical space: “I would say within five years [of opening], we’ve been like busting at the seams…Even if we have enough providers, we don’t have the rooms and so we’re falling on top of each other. So the need is desperate.”
Connor Nally, Vice President of Development at Nally Ventures, said that planning the renovation and expansion of the health center presented a unique challenge, because for so many people it’s their only source of healthcare.
“The solution that we came up with, the architect and the team, was building the addition first, making sure that [we had] all the exam rooms and medical services needed in the first phase, so that the entire staff can move over. There’s not a disruption of service, then the existing building can be renovated to the education center and the additional office space,” Nally said.
Dr. Peri said that with the expansion, their goal is to do more outreach in different communities, providing services and resources that go far beyond the average doctor’s office: “It’s whatever we can do to impact a person, that’s what we’ll try to do. That’s what I believe the health center is for. It’s not just the medical illnesses, it’s like a holistic concept.”
While addressing the crowd during the groundbreaking ceremony, Nally noted that the Rosa Health Center’s capacity could potentially be quadrupled once all construction is complete.
The first phase of building is expected to take 10 months once final permits are granted.
