Oak Orchard Health buys OTB site, 2 other properties on Route 31
Photo by Tom Rivers: The former Off-Track Betting parlor at 317 West Ave. in Albion, as well as the green house at left, were acquired by Oak Orchard Health, which runs a healthcare site next door.
ALBION – Oak Orchard Health is looking to expand healthcare services in Orleans County, including dental and possibly vision and behavioral health, after acquiring three sites on Route 31 in Albion.
Oak Orchard purchased the former Off-Track Betting Corp. site at 317 West Avenue, as well as a next-door house, and a vacant parcel. The sites are next to Oak Orchard’s existing Albion health care site.
“We know there is a great need in Orleans County for health services and we look forward to filling some of that need,” said Jim Cummings, chief executive officer for Oak Orchard.
Oak Orchard, a Federally Qualified Health Center, will work on securing financing for a new site on the newly acquired properties. The current site is cramped. A bigger new building would allow Oak Orchard to add medical professionals and will become the main healthcare site for Oak Orchard in Albion, Cummings said.
The existing site may become the site for vision, dental and behavioral health services, Cummings said. Oak Orchard will work with the Orleans County Health Department and State Department of Health to assess services that could be provided by Oak Orchard.
The green house by the OTB will be torn down, Cummings said. The OTB parlor, which is set back from the road, may stay and be used for storage and for Oak Orchard’s maintenance staff. The new building might go in front of the OTB building.
Oak Orchard will work with an architect for the new building. If the financing, and state and local approvals fall into place, Cummings said the new site could be ready in about two years.
“We’re moving on our plan for more medical space,” he said. “That is our broad-based goal because the needs in Orleans are significant for health and dental.”
Oak Orchard is marking its 50th anniversary in the community this year. Oak Orchard was originally founded by the University of Rochester in 1966 to provide health care for migrant farmworkers. Oak Orchard has expanded to an integrated health center with services for all community members. Oak Orchard has sites in Albion, Lyndonville, Brockport, Warsaw and Hornell, as well as a mobile dental unit.
Oak Orchard Health recently received a perfect score during an operational site visit by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health and Services Administration’s Bureau of Primary Health Care.
Oak Orchard successfully fulfilled all 19 program requirements – an accomplishment that places Oak Orchard Health among a very small number of community health centers nationally to achieve this score, Cummings said.
The health center was measured on clinical, quality, financial, and operational performance and practices during the in-depth review. The operational site visit results provide a comprehensive assessment of the health center’s compliance and performance status.
“An operational site visit that results with no negative findings is very rare and a testament to the dedication put forth each day at Oak Orchard Health,” Cummings said. “I am proud of our team and its successful efforts to deliver high quality health care to our community.”
