Tag Archives: Hamilton Health Center

Wheel House: Recycle Bicycle buys permanent home following years-long search

October 14, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Volunteers clean out the interior of the new Recycle Bicycle building this past weekend.

The long search is over.

After years of combing through nearly every neighborhood in Harrisburg, Recycle Bicycle has found a new home—and it’s exactly where Ross Willard has wanted to be all along.

“It’s in the heart of the city, which is where we need to be because that’s where the need is the greatest,” said Willard, founder of the Harrisburg-based nonprofit.

Specifically, it’s at 1722 Chestnut St., a mixed commercial and residential area smack-dab in the middle of Allison Hill.

Recycle Bicycle closed on the building purchase last week, and volunteers spent the weekend cleaning it out, an effort that continues this week.

But that’s just the first step. The circa-1940 machine shop needs a “a lot,” said Willard: a new roof, drywall, plumbing, lighting and much else before it can officially open for business, hopefully by early spring. In the meantime, the organization will be able to collect and store bikes there, while performing repairs outside the building.

Recycle Bicycle collects, fixes and gives away bikes free of charge throughout the Harrisburg area and beyond. Perhaps most importantly, it teaches people to care for and fix their own bicycles.

Willard said that he long had his eye on the 9,000-square-foot building near Hamilton Health Center but was unable to contact the former owner who ran a home repair business from there. When he finally reached him, the owner was willing to sell.

“Years ago, I pointed at a map and said that I wanted to be exactly there because it’s so centrally located,” Willard said.

That said—Willard still would like to find a satellite location in Uptown Harrisburg. For the past four years, Recycle Bicycle was located in the Atlas Street Warehouse, needing to move out after the building sold. As a result, the children in that neighborhood have grown up with easy access to the group and its volunteers, Willard said.

Meanwhile, fundraising continues so that the Allison Hill building can be fixed and made suitable for Recycle Bicycle.

“The roof will cost us as much as the building did,” said Willard.

With that, Willard needed to get off the phone, since he was at an area halfway house helping a resident there fix his bicycle so he could get to his job.

“Too many guys and gals need economical transportation to get to work,” he said. “We are that place.”

For more information about Recycle Bicycle and to make a donation, visit www.recyclebicycleharrisburg.org.

Harrisburg Planning Commission OKs zoning change for Midtown, dispensary for Allison Hill

October 3, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

This empty lot at N. 6th and Reily streets is part of the area that would be rezoned.

A Harrisburg builder is a step closer to developing in a Midtown neighborhood, as the city Planning Commission has approved a zoning change that would allow a denser, more mixed-use neighborhood.

Seven Bridges Development received approval on Wednesday night to rezone about 14 city blocks just north of the Broad Street Market. The zoning change from “residential medium neighborhood” to “commercial neighborhood” would permit greater height, density and mix of uses in the Marketplace townhouse neighborhood.

“We’ve been working on this for over a year,” said Seven Bridges attorney Christopher Rice of the Carlisle-based Martson Law Offices. “The idea is take vacant parcels and give Midtown more opportunities for residential and commercial.”

In late 2005, the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority sold 71 individual lots to State College-based S&A Homes for $1 apiece. S&A built a handful of houses then stopped, causing the authority recently to buy back the undeveloped parcels.

In late April, the authority designated Seven Bridges as the potential developer of the remaining 60 lots in the Marketplace neighborhood, and, last week, the company held a community meeting on the proposed zoning change, which attracted about 20 city residents.

At that meeting, Ian Wewer, director of development and operations for Seven Bridges, said his company would only build in the area if it received the zoning change.

“Currently, we have a proposal to change zoning more conducive to development,” he told planning commission members on Wednesday night.

An outline of the area that would be re-zoned.

A handful of Midtown residents attended the meeting, and they seemed split over the proposal.

Diana Grannison, who lives on N. 5th Street, said that she supports the zoning change if it will help her neighborhood develop, with fewer empty lots.

“I’ve been waiting 30 years for this happen,” she said. “All around me, the city has redeveloped.”

However, several residents said they were concerned about such potential impacts as tougher parking, higher taxes and rising housing costs.

Cate Rowe, representing the community group Midtown Action Council, and said that she would feel more comfortable with the proposed zoning change if Seven Bridges would release information about what it intended to do. It’s hard to know the potential effect on such areas as schools and parks without a better understanding of what the company is planning, she said.

“We really need to know more about what the impact of the zoning change will be,” she said.

Wewer said previously that his company has not finalized plans for the area.

City Planning Director Geoffrey Knight said that Seven Bridges would need to return to the planning commission to get its land use plans approved for individual projects, regardless of whether the zoning change is made.

“What’s being proposed is a zoning map amendment. It’s not an application for a development,” he said. “It will allow more development to occur by right. But it won’t exempt any new project from going through the land development process.”

In the end, the planning commission voted 4-2 in favor of the change, with commissioners Anne Marek and Ausha Green dissenting.

The proposed zoning amendment now must be approved by Harrisburg City Council, which is slated to hold a hearing on the issue during its Nov. 5 work session.

On Wednesday night, the commission also approved the land use plan for a proposed medical marijuana dispensary on Allison Hill.

By a 5-1 vote, with Green again dissenting, the commission approved an application for a new, 3,000-square-foot dispensary at 137 S. 17^th St. Last year, the state granted a dispensary license to Lehigh Valley-based Local Dispensaries LLC, which wants to build its facility on an empty lot across from Hamilton Health Center. That land use plan also must be approved by City Council.

Harrisburg proposes changing procedures, timeframe for disbursing federal housing funds

July 9, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Franchon Dickinson, Harrisburg’s director of building and housing, speaks to City Council on Tuesday night.

Harrisburg plans to shake up the yearly process of doling out federal housing dollars under its “Annual Action Plan” unveiled on Tuesday night.

Franchon Dickinson, director of the city’s Department of Building and Housing, told City Council that the administration wants to tighten requirements for Harrisburg-based social service agencies seeking funding under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.

“If we want to effectuate change, we’re going to need to change the way we do business,” she said.

In recent years, council has doled out relatively small amounts of CDBG money to a dozen or so specific service agencies. HUD, however, recently has questioned the way Harrisburg has distributed some of those funds, said Mayor Eric Papenfuse. Therefore, the city needs to make certain it strictly follows HUD guidelines, he said.

Specifically, agencies must show that a service is new or must demonstrate a “quantifiable increase in the level of service in the last 12 months,” said Dickinson. In addition, she said that HUD prefers to fund “senior enrichment programs or special needs populations.”

Moreover, the administration wants to change the funding structure for CDBG, which, this year, will total nearly $1.94 million, down a bit from last year’s pot of $2 million.

Under the current proposal, just $100,000 will be set aside for social service programming, down from about $240,000 last year. However, for facilities projects, agencies will be able to apply for money from a second bucket, one reserved for “public improvement/public facilities,” which totals $407,261, Dickinson said.

Papenfuse said that HUD didn’t like that, in the past, Harrisburg permitted facility improvements with money meant for “public service activities,” funds that were supposed be reserved for programming and other service activities.

The application process also is changing.

This year, the city will not determine recipients before submitting its action plan to HUD in mid-August. Specific recipients will be determined later through a request for proposals (RFP) process, which will be issued in late August, and applications will be scored to make sure they meet HUD guidelines, Papenfuse said.

“It’s a change in procedure, but it’s a good one,” he said. “It makes sure that every dollar we spend will be spent wisely.”

Other proposed CDBG allotments include:

$593,423 for debt service, as the city continues to pay down a federal loan it guaranteed under former Mayor Steve Reed for the disastrous Capitol View Commerce Center project
$387,670 for grant administration
$250,000 for homeowner rehabilitation
$200,000 for emergency demolition

In addition to the CDBG ordinance, council tonight introduced ordinances for the HUD Emergency Solutions Grant Program for $166,243, which mostly goes to the Capital Area Coalition on Homelessness to fund emergency shelter and rehousing, and another for HUD’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program for $432,187, which funds affordable housing solutions.

Now that council has introduced its ordinances, the public has 30 days to comment before council takes a final vote on them on Aug. 13. In addition, a public meeting will be held on July 31 at 6 p.m. at Hamilton Health Center.

Only one current CDBG recipient attended Tuesday’s meeting—Les Ford, executive director of the Heinz-Menaker Senior Center.

Following the meeting, Ford said he was unsure what to make of the proposed changes to the program. He said he was concerned that the funds allotted for “public service programs” had been cut from $240,000 to $100,000 under the administration’s proposal, leaving little for the city’s many service providers to split.

“I don’t even know if it’s worth applying for,” he said. “I need to get more information tomorrow. At this point, my head is spinning.”

Harrisburg receives federal “Brownfields” grant, plans more site cleanup

June 25, 2019 | by Hanna Martin

Bryan Davis, executive director of the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority, spoke today from the future expansion site of Hamilton Health Center.

Harrisburg’s Allison Hill is littered with brownfield sites, the legacy of the many factories and other industrial companies that once operated there.

Today, the city announced the receipt of a $300,000 federal Brownfields Program grant, which will help remediate some of the residual contamination, with the goal of putting those sites back into productive use.

“A key element of the federal program is to redevelop a lot of these old, abandoned sites versus going into pristine, non-touched natural environment,” said John Armstead, the Mid-Atlantic land, chemical and redevelopment regional division director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The grant will be used to identify brownfield sites that have potential for redevelopment, conduct environmental assessments and plan the clean up of the sites, Armstead said.

“[The grant is] critical to us because we have so many properties that have a history of being along rail lines, being in creek beds and that have possible contamination, but in many instances, people just don’t know,” said Bryan Davis, the executive director of the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority.

Last year, the authority received a $200,000 Brownfields Program grant. That grant, said Armstead, was leveraged for $26 million in redevelopment, as the money is used to clean up sites that otherwise would be difficult to redevelop.

This time around, potential projects for the grant may include an expansion of N.F. String and Son, Inc., one of the largest employers in the area, the redevelopment of an abandoned Coca-Cola bottling plant on Allison Hill and the creation of a new grocery store in Harrisburg, said Mayor Eric Papenfuse.

“We’ve created over a thousand jobs in the city over the last 12 months alone, and that number continues to grow,” Papenfuse said. “It’s an exciting time to invest, and this grant will lay the groundwork for additional dollars coming right here into the heart of Allison Hill.”

Hamilton Health Center built on a previous brownfield site, demonstrating the potential for development and revitalization in Allison Hill, said CEO Jeannine Peterson. She said that she hoped the grant would further the redevelopment of the area.

“We’re looking for the investment to come here,” she said. “The EPA saw it, and they gave funding to the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority to get it started. We are so happy that the second round [of funding] is coming here. We are hoping that other businesses see the vision that we grasped over 10 years ago and come and take advantage of the area.”

The grant could also bring the potential for further community engagement. Julie Waters, the neighborhood revitalization manager of Tri-County Community Action, an advocacy group for residents of the tri-county area, said that the community is a crucial part of revitalization efforts.

“This funding stream brings great momentum that’s building in this community and in the city,” she said. “It provides another opportunity for residents to raise their voices and share their expertise so that the way the community looks and functions reflects their needs.”

Right Time, Wrong Place? Allison Hill stakeholders don’t necessarily object to a medical marijuana dispensary; it’s the location they don’t like.

April 30, 2019 | by M. Diane McCormick

Jeannine Peterson

Jeannine Peterson learned about a medical marijuana dispensary landing in sight of Hamilton Health Center’s South Allison Hill campus “the same way the public heard about it—in the paper.”

The Hamilton Health CEO had questions.

“Why did you decide to locate here in the first place?” she said. “They never asked anyone in the city. South Allison Hill has a very active community group. We could have told you all the plans already in motion for the businesses to come here and build up this community.”

Pennsylvania’s process for siting medical marijuana dispensaries reveals a slew of regulations tempered by a bit of art.

Many find their way to distressed areas because the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act incentivizes locating in Act 47 cities, which include Harrisburg. While dispensary owners claim economic benefit, some residents—at least in the case of the Allison Hill site—question whether the benefits stay in the neighborhood.

Those same Act 47 cities are usually home to clusters of schools and licensed day cares, and dispensaries must remain 1,000 feet away, unless they get a waiver through local and state officials.

Which is where the S. 17th Street facility might have encountered a snag. Two daycares with active licenses are within the restricted zone, according to Pennsylvania’s Compass childcare finder. Apparently, neither was cited in the dispensary’s permit application, which was approved on Dec. 18.

To seek a post-permit waiver of the 1,000-foot rule, applicants must obtain statements presenting the views of the city and the affected day cares or schools, said PA Health Department Director of Communications April Hutcheson. They must also demonstrate that they performed their due diligence in seeking out possible sites.

By mid-April, the department had not received a waiver application from Local Dispensaries, LLC, but Hutcheson said the company was “asking how to go about the process.”

The city, however, has already written the department verifying the nearby daycare, said Mayor Eric Papenfuse. The dispensary owner has seemed willing to move, Papenfuse said. However, he added, “I think there’s some issues with how these permits are being awarded.”

The city supports dispensaries at other locations, Papenfuse said. The issue, as he sees it, is a lack of consultation with the community.

“Hamilton Health didn’t even know,” said Papenfuse. “Clearly, the Department of Health did not do due diligence in reviewing the application. I don’t blame the applicant. They did what they were supposed to do.”

And this concern about neighborhood support and impact isn’t confined to Allison Hill. Some Uptown residents have complained they weren’t consulted about the second approved facility in Harrisburg—the planned location of Harvest of South Central PA’s dispensary into the former Camp Curtin Bar-B-Que on N. 6th Street.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to be awarding licenses without the Department of Health having a conversation with the city,” Papenfuse said. “They really ought to have a requirement to have the immediate neighborhood’s support before awarding the license.”

Community Impact

As of press time, at least one affected childcare near the proposed Allison Hill dispensary had not been approached.

Debra Washington has operated Tiny Tears Day Care on Derry Street for 20 years. The inner city has “enough woes” without a medical marijuana dispensary, she said, as she wondered why the facility doesn’t locate downtown.

“The least they could have done was come and see why I object to it, but they never even bothered,” Washington said. “I guess they feel as though they can jump right over me, and I don’t think that can happen.”

Hamilton Health Center is also upset because its own planned day care center, approved by the city in 2017, falls within the 1,000-foot zone. However, land remediation issues have delayed construction, and according to Hutcheson, application reviews consider only existing facilities.

Peterson has told facility owners that Hamilton Health Center is “not opposed at all” to medical marijuana.

“We understand the efficacy of medical marijuana,” she said. “We just didn’t think that was an appropriate location for a dispensary.”

Dispensary applicants aren’t deliberately seeking low-income communities but, instead, look for “density of population” and ease of access, said Harrisburg attorney Judith D. Cassel, of Cannabis Law PA, which specializes in medical marijuana regulatory law.

“Inner cities often provide better mass transit, so the patients can get to them, as opposed to being out in rural areas,” she said.

Some Pennsylvania dispensaries are in higher-income areas, Cassel said. Hutcheson noted, for instance, that the dispensary in the Enola mailing address is actually in Hampden Township.

Dispensary permits are scored for criteria including security, business capacity and community impact. However, applications from the Dec. 18 round of permits are undergoing redaction and are not yet available for public review. Applicants can request that trade secrets be redacted, and, as Cassel noted, even a business plan’s community impact efforts can be shielded from rival dispensaries.

Local Dispensaries, LLC, received a community impact score of 93 out of a possible 100.

“How do you get a high score for community impact?” said Peterson. “What are the criteria? No one has been able to tell us that. They didn’t talk to anyone in the community.”

Peter Bio, listed in state documents as CEO of Local Dispensaries, LLC, did not respond to questions and messages sent to his contact information.

In a statement aired by ABC27, Local Dispensaries said that its primary goal “is to provide relief for the thousands of citizens of Harrisburg who previously had to find it through opioids, other pharmaceuticals or nowhere at all.” According to that statement, the company has been “in active dialogue with the department, Mayor Papenfuse and Hamilton Health Center” and expects to deliver “a project that will provide local jobs and inject $1.5 million into a previously vacant and disused lot.”

Not Helping

Wendy Scott, secretary of the South Allison Hill Homeowners & Residents Association, isn’t aware of any pre-application outreach to the community by dispensary owners. And she doesn’t see a shower of economic or health benefits for neighbors, especially because insurance doesn’t cover the costs of certification for medical marijuana use, state ID cards or product purchases.

“If it’s only for the elite, for those who can afford it, it’s not helping Allison Hill at all,” she said.

Medical marijuana dispensaries are not the head shops of old, said Hutcheson. Patients must be physician-certified with one of 21 approved medical conditions. Products are tightly packaged, and the department can “track the marijuana from the seed where it’s grown to the grower to the patient.”

“Only approved products can be sold at a dispensary,” she said. “Only approved patients can walk into a dispensary. It is very, very highly controlled and highly regulated.”

Papenfuse sees room for all perspectives.

“Bottom line is, the city does not have an issue with a dispensary coming into the city,” he said. “We just want to make sure that the location is correct and successful and has the support of the immediate neighborhood.”

Dispensaries must be operational within six months after permits are awarded, although extensions are possible. Hamilton Health officials know that the clock is ticking, said Peterson. But she sees “a perception that because we’re in a low-income community, that there’s no development going on, that they come in and they’re going to be the entity that creates economic development.”

In reality, she said, Hamilton Health Center has a $3 million expansion underway, new apartments are entering the market, and the Harrisburg Housing Authority and Tri County Community Action are among those pursuing redevelopment. The community really does “invest in ourselves,” she said.

“We take a lot of pride in what we do,” she said. “It’s not that we don’t want other businesses to come in. We do. Any time I get an opportunity, I’m encouraging businesses to come see what’s going on. We want businesses, but we want the right businesses, the businesses that can help our community to grow and thrive.”

Dozens of projects funded as Dauphin County announces 2019 gaming grants

February 27, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

This aerial view of Hamilton Health Center shows the adjacent site where contaminated soil is to be removed.

The Dauphin County commissioners today allotted $6.4 million to some 60 projects in its annual allocation of gaming funds.

Locally, Harrisburg city will receive $203,000 to upgrade its phone system and create an off-site backup storage facility for data such as crime, property, tax and codes information.

Elsewhere in Harrisburg, Hamilton Health Center will receive $115,000 to remove contaminated soil in an adjacent lot to prepare for a planned facility expansion.

“We’ve run out of exam room space, and we want to expand our medical and behavioral health services,” said Jeannine Peterson, Hamilton’s CEO.

Funding for the $6.4 million in projects comes from the county’s share of gaming revenue generated from Hollywood Casino at Penn National in East Hanover Township.

The Dauphin County Gaming Advisory Board reviews project requests before sending its recommendations to the commissioners for approval. While 62 projects were funded, another 37 were denied funding.

Other notable projects in the immediate Harrisburg area that were funded include:

D&H Distributing for a new and expanded training center: $160,000
Tri-County HDC to help fund a $1.4 million project to build 12 townhomes on Adams Street in Steelton: $125,000
Steelton Borough for Phase 2 of the Skate Park and Fire Department gear and equipment: $94,394
Jewish Home of Greater Harrisburg for generator purchase: $70,000
The Salvation Army for security system installation: $53,000
Camp Curtin YMCA for affordable housing construction project: $50,000
Dauphin County Library System for computer equipment: $50,000
Penbrook Borough for sewer interceptor replacement: $50,000
Harrisburg Scottish Rite Masonic Theatre for auditorium media upgrades: $47,780
Cameron Street Boxing Club for facility renovation and equipment: $35,000
Breaking the Chainz Inc. for a van: $29,411
Harrisburg University for HUE Festival security services: $25,000
Theatre Harrisburg for seating and platforms purchase: $25,000
Stephens Episcopal School for safety and security improvements: $8,230

Under state law, the county must use the grant funds for projects that help human services, improve local infrastructure, enhance transportation, address health and safety needs, assist with emergency services and further public interest initiatives.

A complete list of grants follows:

Host & Contiguous

East Hanover Township (Public Works Building debt reduction; Culvert replacement and various roads; and Fire engine debt) – $750,000
South Hanover Township ($100,000 Municipal Complex debt reduction; $107,000 New emergency response support vehicle; $26,000 Salt Storage expansion and miscellaneous improvements; and $10,000 AACA Museum HVAC system) – $243,000
Derry Township ($250,000 Fire Station construction debt reduction; and $38,000 Senior Citizens Council of Derry Township van) – $288,000
Middle Paxton Township ($124,000 Potato Valley Road Bridge; $100,000 Blue Mountain Parkway resurfacing; and $30,000 Dauphin Area Senior Transit van) – $254,000
West Hanover Township (Houck Manor/Holiday Park public sewer extension project) – $275,000

Other Awards

Dauphin Co. Parks & Recreation Department ($75,000 Fort Hunter Station adaptive reuse; $30,000 Wildwood Lake restoration design and permitting; and $25,000 Civil War Grave care) – $130,000
Penbrook Borough (Sewer Interceptor replacement) – $50,000
Swatara Township (Police Motor Carrier Safety Administration Program conditioned upon Township creating and maintaining a permanent officer MCSAP position) – $130,347
Heroes Fund, Inc. (Phase 3 improvements and playground renovation) – $45,000
Jackson Township/ Fisherville Vol. Fire Co. (Fire Station addition construction debt) – $37,000
Pillow Borough Authority (Install two generators and Cold Spring control system) – $50,000
Millersburg Borough (Center Street flood and erosion control measures conditioned upon obtaining Dauphin Co. Infrastructure Bank loan for $183,713) – $161,121
Millersburg Area School District (Security and accessibility upgrades at schools) – $51,000
Steelton Borough/Steelton Vol. Fire Dept. ($30,000 Phase II Skate Park; $64,394.43 Fire Department personal protective gear and mobile equipment and lighting) – $94,394
Cameron Street Boxing Club (Renovate and equip new facility) – $35,000
The Salvation Army (Security system installation) – $53,000
Dauphin Co. Library System (Public and staff computer replacements) – $50,000
Keystone Service Systems, Inc. (Purchase building to provide Pre-K services conditioned upon closing on property within one year) – $30,000
Londonderry Township (Replacement of Lauffer Road Bridge) – $150,000
Harrisburg Rugby Football Club (Design and construction of rugby fields with lights) – $25,000
Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania (Infrastructure improvements and security upgrades at headquarters) – $44,823
D&H Distributing (Construction of new and expanded training center) – $160,000
Washington Township (Municipal building improvements, building addition and upgrades) – $100,000
Elizabethville Area Authority (Replacement of Smith Avenue Wastewater Pump Station) – $100,000
Elizabethville Area Community Alliance (Park and pool pump, filter, electrical and other repairs and improvements) – $40,000
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 143 (HVAC system revamp and classroom materials) – $100,000
Lower Paxton Township ($110,000 Rehabilitation of Friendship Center waterslide; $22,400 Koons Memorial Park Swim Club paint project; $15,750 Penn Colonial Swim Club pump and filter housing units) – $148,150
Dauphin County General Authority (Replace irrigation system and develop new water source at Dauphin Highlands) – $120,000
Cherry Orchard Place LLC (Construction of new 49-unit affordable housing for seniors) – $200,000
Dauphin County Redevelopment Authority (Demolition and clean-up of Old Lykens School site for future development) – $140,000
Lykens Borough ($80,000 Lykens Borough replacement of water distribution system; $19,479 Liberty Hose Co. mobile radio upgrades) – $99,479
Hamilton Health Center (Land acquisition and soil remediation of adjacent property) – $115,000
The Campus of the Jewish Home of Greater Harrisburg (Purchase generator for all-hazards emergency plan) – $70,000
Middletown Area Interfaith Housing (Commercial building repairs to generate funds to benefit youth programs and services) – $10,000
Lower Swatara Township (Debt service on bridge replacement projects and Act 537 sewage facilities plan updates) – $181,276
Tri-County HDC (Redevelopment of vacant and former blighted property) – $125,000
Susquehanna Township ($150,000 Debt service for uptown infrastructure improvements; $50,000 debt reduction on Squad 32 vehicle) – $200,000
Theatre Harrisburg (Theater seating and platforms purchase) – $25,000
Upper Paxton Township (Reconstruction and improvement of West Pearl Street conditioned upon receiving CDBG or raising full funding) – $100,000
Gratz Borough (Pump replacement and installation of generator and control system) – $36,200
Reed Township (Contribution to debt payment on aerial fire apparatus) – $40,000
Pop’s House (Reduction of debt incurred for acquisition of veterans center) – $30,000
The Vista School (Safety and security improvements) – $30,000
Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority (Purchase mini-pumper for Harrisburg International Airport Fire Department) – $100,000
Middletown Volunteer Fire Department (Pumper Truck replacement project) – $125,000
Linden Centre, LLC (Curbing, paving, site utilities and storm water BMPS conditioned upon this being the last funding request for the project) – $125,000
City of Harrisburg (Redundant data center and telecommunications modernization) – $203,000
Camp Curtin YMCA (Affordable Housing construction project conditioned upon securing remaining funding within three years) – $50,000
St. Stephen’s Episcopal School (Safety and security improvements) – $8,230
Berrysburg Municipal Authority (Sewage Treatment Plant system replacement and clarifier conversion) – $40,000
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region (Conversion of IT operations) – $22,000
Capital Region Literacy Council (Purchase children’s books for reading program) – $17,875
Court Administration for Magisterial District Judges (Debt reduction on construction of new MDJ offices) – $200,000
Halifax Borough (Electrical, HVAC and accessibility renovations to Halifax Historical Society) – $50,000
Harrisburg Scottish Rite Masonic Theatre (Auditorium media upgrades) – $47,780
Harrisburg University (HUE Festival security services) – $25,000
Hummelstown Borough (Debt reduction on new municipal/public safety building) – $50,496
Loyal Order of the Moose Family Center #59 (Family Center ADA improvements) – $12,000
Oasis Community/Living Water Church (Park and playground project installation) – $30,000
The Foundation for Enhancing Communities (Dauphin County Court Appointed Special Advocate Program for youth conditioned upon the funds not being contributed to salary or other personnel costs) – $15,000
Wiconisco Fire Engine Co. (Debt reduction on new fire rescue and equipment) – $40,000
Wiconisco Township (Municipal building debt reduction) – $40,000
Breaking the Chainz, Inc. (Van for community restoration centers) – $29,411
Phase 4 Learning Center, Inc. (Curriculum and software for diploma retrieval, job training/preparation program) – $20,000
American Literacy Corp. (Dauphin Co. Reading Initiative promotion) – $4,500
Life Esteem (Holistic Health Wellness Center marketing and program materials) – $3,500
Dauphin County Industrial Development Authority (Administration) – $550,000

Healthy Life, Happy Life: CEO Jeannine Peterson has guided Hamilton Health through many moves, tremendous growth.

January 31, 2019 | by M. Diane McCormick

It’s not easy, asking staff to wait a few days before cashing their paychecks. Jeannine Peterson was working hard to right the financially struggling Hamilton Health Center, collecting old debts and downsizing operations.

The year was 2000, and veteran health care policymaker Peterson had been asked by fellow Hamilton board members to step in temporarily. She was clearing up a $2 million deficit while also trying to convince staff to stay. To which they responded: “Why should we stay if you won’t?”

“I had to do some soul searching, and they were right,” Peterson says now. “How could I sit here and say I was just there on a temporary basis, seeing if I can keep the doors open? If I’m able to or not, I’m still riding off into the sunset.”

Today, Peterson is CEO of an ever-expanding federally qualified health center with a $22 million budget, providing physical, mental, dental and vision health services to 38,500 people through 95,600 visits in 2017. Hamilton Health employs 280 people, recently opened a new satellite clinic in Perry County and, this year, will celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Blank Canvas

A group of Harrisburg-area doctors and dentists founded Hamilton Health in 1969. They saw the need for a medical center serving the underserved, especially those without insurance.

Hamilton Health Center started in a trailer and then developed a habit of moving to larger quarters as it outgrew each space. About five years into her job, Peterson had another idea. She envisioned a large, modern facility that Hamilton could grow into. At the same time, the Community Action Commission identified health care as a primary need in Harrisburg’s Allison Hill. There, a sturdy but rundown former state print shop and warehouse went up for sale—67,000 square feet of blank canvas.

“Everybody thought I lost my mind,” Peterson said.

The community declined to contribute, forcing Peterson to be less ambitious in her goals. So, Hamilton took on the project itself, building out 30,000 square feet in Phase I with $16.5 million in financing cobbled from federal, state and county governments, a Fulton Bank loan and $1 million of its own equity.

Today, visitors to the facility on 17th Street in Harrisburg enter via a bright, soaring lobby. Departments include pediatrics, women’s health, behavioral health, dentistry and the new vision center. The underserved remain Hamilton’s primary demographic. Sixty-five to 70 percent are enrolled in Medical Assistance (Medicaid).

Through longtime partnerships, Hamilton also serves students in the Harrisburg school district, preschoolers in Capital Area Head Start and elderly residents of Harrisburg Housing Authority apartments.

The space that opened in September 2012 was supposed to last 10 years, but “people just kept coming and coming and coming,” Peterson said. For Phase II, which opened in 2015, the community got the picture, donating $8.2 million to a $7 million capital campaign. Pediatrics got its own space, and administration and social services moved in from separate buildings.

“Once people walked in and saw what we had accomplished and that the need still existed, they stepped up,” said Peterson. “This community is a very giving community.”

Hamilton is a “medical mall,” helping patients overcome barriers of language and transportation through bilingual staff and such onsite services as imaging through UPMC Pinnacle and lab work through Quest Diagnostics. Hours range from early morning to evening, plus two Saturdays a month.

“We don’t get it right all the time,” said Peterson. “But we try to think about the needs of the patients who historically have been left out of the mainstream.”

The opioid crisis has sparked the latest round of partnerships and new services.

Peterson launched her career in the substance abuse field in the 1970s, and her 22 years with the state included service as the Department of Health’s deputy secretary for drugs and alcohol. For 17 years, in fact, Hamilton has offered services for pregnant, addicted women.

But the nature of drugs today is “so much more potent, and they’re so much more prevalent in the broader community,” Peterson said. Hamilton is one of the state’s 45 “Centers of Excellence” for treating addiction. Its expanded case management model now covers men, women and families. Medication-assisted therapy is offered inhouse.

“We try to work with members of the community to provide that holistic approach to care,” Peterson said.

Giving Back

Peterson grew up in Pittsburgh, where her father founded a TV repair shop—one of the oldest African-American businesses there, still run by her brother and his son. She is active in the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, which performs community services and grants scholarships, and recently was named the chair of the board of directors for the Capital Region Economic Development Corp. (CREDC) for 2019.

She loves to travel, taking road trips with her daughter—a medical informatics professional—and vacations to sunny spots.

“I’ve been very fortunate in my life,” Peterson said. “Everybody doesn’t have two-parent homes and have the ability to go away to college. I say, ‘There but for the grace of God go I.’ God could have had a different path for me. It’s about giving back and always helping people who may not have had those opportunities I did.”

More construction is in Peterson’s future, as Hamilton Health purchased an adjoining lot from the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority. Exact uses remain to be decided. Training rooms might be built for Hamilton’s many medical students and interns who get their first taste of urban and health-center care there.

Today’s sprawling health systems are invaluable partners to Hamilton, but community-based health care will never go out of style, Peterson said.

“That touch, the feel, the being in the community and understanding the diversity of populations is critical for us being able to improve health outcomes,” she said. “It’s not a cookie-cutter approach.”

Dental Director Dr. Martin Francis left private practice in Atlanta to follow his wife, obstetrician Dr. Potacia Francis, to Hamilton.

“I enjoy the way I can give back to the community, being able to help them doing the quality dentistry I did in private practice, being able to see the smiles on the faces,” he said as he stood amid the bright bays of the dental department.

Hamilton’s excellence comes from recruiting the right providers, “and leadership having discussions about care,” Francis said.

“He wants to expand dentistry,” Peterson interjected.

“We have doctors who are committed to giving the best care in the community,” Francis added, “and Hamilton encourages that.”

Hamilton Health Center is located at 110 S. 17th St., Harrisburg. To mark its 50th anniversary, it will hold a weeklong Hamilton CommYOUnity Festival, Aug. 5-10; golf tournament, Sept. 9 at West Shore Country Club; gala, Oct. 24 at Hershey Lodge and Convention Center. For information about the center and services, visit www.Hamiltonhealthcenter.com.

Harrisburg Chamber names TheBurg as 2018 Catalyst Award winner

October 24, 2018 | by Lawrance Binda

TheBurg was named today as the recipient of the 2018 Catalyst Award, an annual honor given by the Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC.

The award is intended to honor “those making a difference in our communities, creating more opportunities for businesses, and building a brighter future for our region,” according to the Chamber.

“TheBurg is deeply honored by this recognition,” said Larry Binda, TheBurg’s editor-in-chief. “As we celebrate our 10^th anniversary, this award helps validate the hard work we do every day to contribute positively to the greater Harrisburg community.”

TheBurg’s products include TheBurg Monthly, its flagship monthly magazine, TheBurg Daily, which features breaking news and original local reporting, and 3^rd in the Burg, Harrisburg’s monthly arts, culture and nightlife event. TheBurg also sponsors many events in the community and is the lead sponsor for the Harrisburg Mural Festival.

The Chamber has given out the Catalyst Award since 1990 and regards it as “the most prestigious award given by the Harrisburg Regional Chamber and CREDC,” according to the Chamber. Last year’s recipient was the Joshua Group. Decisions on winners are made by an independent awards committee.

In addition to the Catalyst Award itself, the Chamber announced other awards today that fall under the Catalyst Awards program. The categories and recipients are:

Athena Award: Kristal Turner-Childs of Eyes Wide Open LLC and the PA State Police
Business Diversity Champion: Hamilton Health Center
Corporate Citizen of the Year: Capital BlueCross
Emerging Business Leader of the Year: Mike Wilson, Members 1^st Federal Credit Union
Entrepreneur of the Year: Jason Klock, Klock Entertainment
Government Leader of the Year: Robert “Bob” Riley, former deputy chief of staff for former Rep. Todd Platts and Rep. Scott Perry
President’s Award: Kathleen Pavelko, WITF
Small Business of the Year: Mountz Jewelers
Volunteer of the Year: Lynda Morris, Capital Region Partnership of Career Development

The awards ceremony will take place on Dec. 6, starting at 5:30 p.m., at the Hilton Harrisburg and Whitaker Center, Harrisburg.

Pictured above: TheBurg’s full-time staff, from left: Lizzy Hardison, Lauren Maurer, Larry Binda, Kelsey Tatge and Megan Caruso.

Hamilton Health receives state grant, gets closer to breaking ground on expansion

July 19, 2018 | by Lawrance Binda

Artist’s rendering of Hamilton Health Center’s future campus, with the planned expansion at the left side of the image.

Hamilton Health Center is a step closer to breaking ground on its long-anticipated expansion, as it has received a state grant to remediate the once-industrial construction site.

Gov. Tom Wolf today announced that Harrisburg-based Hamilton Health is the recipient of a $911,113 grant from the state’s Industrial Sites Reuse Program. The grant, along with 25 percent in matching funds, will provide soil remediation for the 2.3-acre site next to the center’s S. 17^th Street facility on Allison Hill.

“We’re very excited about this grant,” said CEO Jeanine Peterson. “We couldn’t go any farther until we received funding to get this done.”

The site long housed an automotive operation, which leeched lead into the ground. The remediation project will remove soil from the site and replace it with clean soil, in addition to other protective measures, Peterson said.

She said that this portion of the project now can proceed and that Hamilton Health hopes to break ground on the new, two-story, 30,000-square-foot building and parking lot this fall. She expects construction to take 10 months to one year.

“This new funding is great news for the city of Harrisburg because it will transform a vacant part of the property into a new expansion for Hamilton Health Center, which means even better health and social services for Harrisburg residents,” said Wolf, in a statement. “Investments like these provide a significant boost to the area.”

Last September, Harrisburg City Council gave Hamilton Health approval for the project. At the time, it was anticipated that Capital Area Head Start would rent a substantial portion of the space for its expansion.

However, the project delay caused Capital Area Head Start, which first approached Hamilton Health about a partnership in 2015, to seek other space. So, Peterson said, Hamilton will occupy the building itself, using it for medical and social services.

“The demand for our services has escalated over the last two years,” she said.

In the process, Hamilton will continue to remake what once was a heavily industrial—then largely abandoned—part of Harrisburg.

“We take blight away and help bring the community back to what it should be,” Peterson said.

To learn more about Hamilton Health Center, visit their website.

Community Comment: HBG communications director reacts to Burg blog post, defends outreach effort.

February 8, 2018 | by Joyce Davis

Editor’s Note: Harrisburg Communications Director Joyce Davis issued the response below to a blog post published yesterday by TheBurg’s city reporter Lizzy Hardison, “Say What You Mean.” The blog concerned the city’s communication of a “community debriefing” at Hamilton Health Center on Tuesday night, specifically about whether the general public was permitted to attend the event, which addressed recent police-involved shootings. This response originally was an email sent this morning to TheBurg from Davis. She said that this email should be used as her official response. To better understand the context, please read the original blog post. TheBurg welcomes responses to our stories.

Joyce Davis’ response:

You had some inaccuracies in your blog today that I hope you will correct.

First, your news colleagues saw the information I posted information about the community meeting on Next Door and in other Social Media. The information clearly explained the nature of the meeting and that the media would not be allowed to participate.

While you indicated we had no direct contact with the media, that is incorrect. I was in direct contact with several news outlets and spoke directly to those who called, including Porcha Johnson, Logan Wilson and Mark Hall. In fact, Mark had been assigned to go to the meeting, but after speaking to me, explained to his editors that he should not go. Logan talked to me several times about the event.

Again, these good reporters saw the information I posted on social media and took time to contact me to discuss. I’m not sure why you didn’t see it, but I would suggest you follow the city’s on Twitter, Next Door and on its Facebook page and that you set up alerts so that you know when things are posted.

Here’s what was posted on social media and that your colleagues distributed to the public,

(I have placed in bold the pertinent information about the event and in red the alert to the news media):

Message from the Harrisburg Bureau of Police

Director of Communications Joyce Davis from City of Harrisburg · 5d ago

In the recent weeks, residents of the area of 17th Street, Mulberry Street, and the surrounding community have been witness to disturbing incidents. The Bureau of Police has invited the Keystone Crisis Intervention Team to Harrisburg.

The Keystone Crisis Intervention Team is a state crisis team that responds to crime related events to support crime victims, witnesses and communities in the recovery of an incident. The Bureau of Police of the City of Harrisburg invites you to a community gathering on Tuesday, February 6, 2018 at 6 pm at the Hamilton Health Center located at 110 South 17th Street.

The purpose of the meeting is to talk about reactions and responses to what has happened in your community. It is to support you and your neighborhood. It is not to investigate, review, or assess the events that have taken place. In addition, a resource table and staff members from several agencies will be there to offer resources.

Although the media may know about the gathering, they will not be permitted to participate.

We welcome your attendance.

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