Refugees and immigrants in Erie will soon have shorter wait times to see a primary care doctor, chiropractor or counselor.

Multicultural Health Assessment Delivery System It is opening a third medical office to meet the needs of the area’s growing New American population. Office 826 Parade St. It is located at , and its providers will begin seeing patients starting November 4.

“I was officially named CEO on February 4, and the next day I called a real estate agent about a third office,” said MHEDS CEO Alivia Haibach. “We didn’t have enough space to see all the patients we needed to see.”

Founded in 1972, MHEDS is a federally qualified health center that is also the region’s official provider of refugee health screenings. As the number of immigrants and refugees moving to Erie has increased in recent years, MHEDS’s patient population has also increased, Haibach said.

2928 Peach St. and their existing offices at the JFK Center, 2021 E. 20th St., were no longer adequate to meet demand.

“We literally didn’t have space for additional healthcare providers who could reduce patient wait times,” Haibach said. “We see about 900 patients a month, and when we open the new location we will be able to see about 1,400 patients a month.”

That means ideally, patients who call MHEDS for an appointment will be seen the same day, Haibach said. Currently, most patients are seen within 30 days.

MHEDS hired two physicians, two physician assistants, a counselor, a chiropractor and a front desk employee for the new facility.

MHEDS chooses Parade Street after consulting with East Side Renaissance

MHEDS was exploring several potential locations for the new office when it began talking to members. East Coast RenaissanceA plan to invest in real estate and people on Erie’s east side, particularly Parade Street.

“Having MHEDS at this location is going to be a game changer,” said Matt Harris, a former Pennsylvania State Trooper who once co-founded East Side Renaissance and created “Character: Be About It,” a crime prevention program. “Having a medical office that people in that neighborhood can walk to will help relieve the pressure on (Erie) emergency rooms.”

The new facility had been used for storage by its owner, Kraus Shopping Centre. MHEDS leases the building and has completed $50,000 worth of renovations to it.

A second MHEDS office could open on Parade Street in 2025

When the office opens, it will provide primary care, chiropractic services and counseling. Lab services could be moved there from the JFK office, Haibach said. The new office will focus primarily on the initial health screenings required for refugees.

According to Harris and Haibach, a second MHEDS office could open on Parade Street in 2025. MHEDS received a contract from East Side Renaissance, which owns the building at 910-912 Parade St. He is talking about renting the property at.

“In a perfect world, we could add specialty services that are not currently provided by MHEDS,” Haibach said. “But we’re at the beginning of this process. We need to see what funding is available.”

Contact David Bruce at [email protected]. Follow him on X @ETNBruce.

This article first appeared in the Erie Times-News: MHEDS opens third Erie medical office for immigrants and refugees