Reed & Whitehouse Help Deliver $1M for CCAP’s Warwick Health Center Expansion
WARWICK, RI – The first week of April is National Public Health Week. This year’s theme is “Protecting, Connecting and Thriving: We Are All Public Health.”
To celebrate, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse today joined Comprehensive Community Action Program (CCAP) and community partners, including Warwick Mayor Frank Picozzi and State House Speaker Joe Shekarchi, at a special ceremony to mark the expansion of the Everett C. Wilcox Health Center on Buttonwoods Avenue.
The $3 million expansion and modernization of CCAP’s Wilcox Health Center, which first opened in 2004, is a big win for the community and public health. It was made possible in part through federal funding, including a $1 million federal earmark requested by then-Congressman James Langevin and supported by Senators Reed and Whitehouse.
When CCAP first opened the Wilcox Health Center twenty years ago, the goal was to offer comprehensive primary and specialty care to as many as 2,000 residents, many of whom are among the city’s most vulnerable, with a full spectrum of services. Many patients who visit the center had little or no health insurance, and tended to go without preventive care and to seek treatment in hospital emergency room settings. Today, the newly renovated, 24,695 square-foot Wilcox Health Center can serve up to 5,500 Rhode Islanders. Medical staff on site will be expanded from three to five medical providers and the center can have two dentists. These health practitioners are focused on improving the collective health and well-being of Rhode Islanders through a myriad of primary care, preventive, and specialized services, including mental health care, behavioral health care, and substance abuse treatment.
“It’s national Public Health Week and the expansion of CCAP’s Warwick Health Center is a great way to celebrate the importance of public health. CCAP and their partners do incredible work addressing the diverse health needs of our community. This expansion is a big accomplishment that is due in large part to the tireless leadership of Joanne McGunagle. It means more Rhode Islanders will be able to see a doctor, nurse, dentist, or health care professional that can provide the care they need when they need it, including annual checkups and preventive care,” said Senator Reed. “I’m proud to have teamed up with Senator Whitehouse and our former colleague in the House, Jim Langevin, to deliver federal funds to make this expansion possible. This new complex is more spacious and will feature a host of new, in-demand services in a welcoming, modern, and comfortable environment for patients.”
“CCAP is expanding access to high-quality health care for families across the West Bay,” said Whitehouse. “I was very pleased to join Senator Reed and our former House colleague Jim Langevin to secure federal funding for the Wilcox Health Center, which will boost CCAP’s capacity and help meet increased demand for health services in Warwick and beyond.”
“In our efforts to eliminate barriers to primary care, such as lack of insurance, transportation, and language, we can now make strides in eliminating the barrier of access,” said Joanne McGunagle, President & CEO of CCAP. “This new facility will give us the space to add another medical provider which will enable us to see more patients. We are so grateful to Senators Reed and Whitehouse for their consistent support of CCAP and their support of healthcare nationally.”
Senators Reed and Whitehouse, along with then-Congressman Jim Langevin, secured a $1 million federal earmark for the two-story Warwick Health Center expansion in the fiscal year 2023 Consolidated Appropriations law.
Since Senators Reed and Whitehouse helped pass the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which President Barack Obama signed into law in 2010, the number of Americans with health insurance has risen dramatically to more than 90 percent nationally. Rhode Island is a national leader when it comes to health coverage. Since 2012, the uninsured rate in Rhode Island has dropped from 11 percent to below 5 percent, a record low. HealthSource RI is also helping people save hundreds of dollars per year on insurance premiums. In 2022, HealthSource RI customers qualified for more than $10 million in financial assistance to lower their premiums.
Reed and Whitehouse also helped include over $1.8 billion in discretionary funding for Community Health Centers (CHCs) in the 2024 Consolidated Appropriations law that was signed by President Joe Biden last month.
