Drexel University will begin a major expansion of its nurse-managed health center which is nationally recognized as a model of integrated care. With a new gift of $2.5 million from the Sheller Family Foundation, the center at 850 N. 11th Street will break ground for a new wing this spring, with the expanded building to be renamed the Stephen and Sandra Sheller 11th Street Family Health Services Center.
The center provides primary care integrated with behavioral health, dental care and a full range of health-promotion programs, while offering Drexel students clinical training opportunities, at the forefront of a rapidly evolving health care system. The center is located in North Philadelphia in the middle of four public housing developments, offering affordable services to urban residents and to all who seek care.
"As a therapist, I've worked with families who struggle with hardships that affect every aspects of their lives, including their health," said Sandra Sheller, director, president and co-founder of the Sheller Family Foundation and a Drexel University alumna in art therapy ('04) and couple and family therapy ('05). "At 11th Street, people receive holistic, comprehensive care that recognizes their struggle and adversity cannot be separated from their health care needs. My husband and I are glad to be a contributor for a model for future health care for the entire country, one that gives students in the health care professions the best possible education and experience about health care in an underserved community."
A National Model of Integrated Primary Care
"We want to make certain that the best possible health services are provided to a major underserved community in our region - and also make an impact beyond that community," said Stephen Sheller, a Drexel University trustee and prominent Philadelphia attorney, co-founder of the Sheller Family Foundation. "We'll see that impact because 11th Street is a bellwether for the country and has set the standard for the future in terms of its entire concept of care."
The center has been recognized as an innovator and a national model of integrated primary care by organizations including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Nursing.
Patients at the 11th Street center receive primary care services from nurse practitioners with integrated behavioral health consultations available within primary care visits as needed, and as a referred service for specialized care. Primary care services are offered in partnership with the Family Practice Counseling Network.
The center also provides a broad array of other services to promote wellness - not just treat illness - including dental care, an on-site pharmacy, a fitness center, physical therapy, yoga, nutrition education and cooking classes, creative arts therapies, social work services and more - at a single location within a community. Specialized programming emphasizes even more areas, including family-centered care and substance abuse screening and treatment in primary care. The center is a hub for many activities not traditionally considered part of health care, including distribution of fresh vegetables grown on a community farm, creating public art in the Porch Light Program and even a law clinic providing legal services and advice from Drexel law students.
The center's comprehensive patient-centered approach to health has developed over 17 years of Drexel nursing and health professions faculty working in partnership with members of the 11th Street community and numerous supportive stakeholders.