The 150-year-old, Bronx, N.Y.-based SBH Health System has joined with developers to construct a 450,000-square-foot complex designed to help low-income residents live healthily, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Located two blocks away from SBH Health-affiliated St. Barnabas Hospital, the complex will have 314 affordable units for low income or formerly homeless households. The $156 million state funded development reflects the state's broader initiative to focus on preventive healthcare strategies as well as to cut down expensive and unnecessary hospitalization or emergency room visits.
Hospital and health officials plan to create an atmosphere of healthy living for residents of the complex, addressing common health issues like asthma, heart disease and diabetes as well as teaching residents how to cook and live overall healthier lives.
Fifty of the units will be managed by BronxWorks, a supportive housing agency that will provide case management, employment training and counseling to residents. Developers are also in talks with local markets to create a café with healthful, affordable food and to construct a childcare center offering extended hours.
"If you have a safe place to live, if you have good food, then you can start to think about all those other things that relate to wellness," said SBH Health System CEO David Perlstein.
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