Membership Centers

North Hills Health Center: A Division of Abington Memorial Hospital
212 Girard Avenue, North Hills, PA 19038
Phone: (215) 572-0302 / Fax: (215) 641-5564
Barbara Hartnett, MBA, RN, Director
bhartnett@amh.org

The North Hills Health Center (NHHC) was opened in 1996 in response to a request from the North Hills community leaders. It is located in a former school building that also includes a branch of the Upper Dublin Library, an office, a computer room provided by the Housing Authority for the nearby public housing residents, and a large community room which is used for various community activities including an after school tutoring program, summer camp programs, and community meetings. The mission of NHHC is to meet the health care needs of the community by providing high quality health care services to patients in a compassionate, caring, and cost-effective manner.

Services provided include primary care visits (physical exams, preventive health screening, EPSDT screening, health maintenance, and acute illnesses). There is a Level I lab on the premises, allowing for lab work to be done in the office or to be sent out for nearby lab services. In addition to primary care on the premises, when needed, referrals are made to Abington Memorial Hospital’s Ambulatory Services specialty clinics. Pharmaceutical assist services are provided as many of the patients coming to the Center lack the funds to pay for prescriptions and over the counter medications. Other services offered include a Foot Care Clinic, Aerobics Classes, Flu Vaccines, Prescriptions for Reading, and transportation services. Services are offered without regard to age, sex, race, religion, or ability to pay.

NHHC has instituted and coordinated educational and screening programs to accommodate working families, children after school, and seniors. Programs include women’s health issues, disease processes, and preventative health, Women’s Night Out, Men’s Night Out, Lunchtime Lectures, a Health Fair, Nutrition Education-Healthy Heart Program, Dental Hygiene, & Summer Camp programs. Community Outreach Programs coordinated with various groups from Abington Memorial Hospital include back to school supplies, winter coats and accessories giveaway and the Holiday Adopt a Family Program. All are offered to residents in need.

The neighborhood served by NHHC includes single family dwellings, apartments, a public housing development of 52 units, and a shelter for homeless individuals and families. The neighborhood is composed primarily of African-American families whose economic status ranges from welfare and working poor to families of moderate-income level. Of the population 36% have less than $2,500 income, 46% are between $2,501 and $15,000, and 18% earn over $15,000 annually.

The staff at NHHC is proud of the care and services that they provide. In the past year, immunization compliance increased from 69% to 98% for children 18 years old and under in the NHHC care, 1,902 primary care visits were provided, and at Women’s Night Out 53 women were provided with free pap/gyn exams, mammograms, and/or cholesterol and blood sugar screening. A Public Health Outreach Nurse has recently been hired to work in conjunction with NHHC to serve the outlying communities and to use NHHC as a clinical site for services. NHHC staff has completed its fourth successful fiscal year of providing a wide range of primary care services and health programs to an increasing number of individuals. Primary care and health promotion/education programs are offered through a full-time nurse practitioner, a part-time primary care physician, a medical social worker, a medical receptionist, an exercise physiologist, student nurses and faculty. Funding comes from a grant from the Independence Foundation, and generous donations from The Patricia Kind Family Foundation, The Abington Memorial Hospital Women’s Board, local community groups, and individuals.