MURRAY HILL — The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation awarded Bellevue $350,000 to renovate and modernize a health care center it operates at Norman Thomas High School.
The gift is part of a nearly $1 million grant from the federal Affordable Care Act that the HHC is doling out to expand and improve six school-based health centers across the five boroughs, according the city's hospital system.
Norman Thomas High School, at 111 East 33rd St., will be getting two new exam rooms and a space to house new screening equipment.
Run by Bellevue Hospital, the center serves nearly 90 percent of the school's more than 1,500 students. In the past three years, the center has screened more than 3,000 teens to identify those affected by obesity and Type II diabetes. The health center also offers treatment services and referrals.
“From adding entirely new exam rooms to updating equipment and even installing air conditioning, these renovations will not only upgrade the existing facilities but will also help ensure that these students are getting the care that they deserve,” HHC President Alan D. Aviles said in a statement.
The facility at Norman Thomas is one of roughly 130 school-based health centers in the five boroughs. The centers provide primary care to some students and additional care for those students who already have a primary care provider. The centers do not require insurance.
The federal funds have also been awarded to school-based health centers operated by Brooklyn's Woodhull Medical Center, the Queens Hospital Center and Elmhurst Hospital Center.
Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced the federal grants last week as part of a national effort to improve health care at school-based health care centers.
