State awards $2.3M to Long Island Select Healthcare

Long Island Select Healthcare, a nonprofit community health organization delivering programs to people with developmental disabilities, received a $2.3 million award from New York State. The organization received the award for its Eastern Suffolk Integrated Healthcare Access Expansion in Riverhead.

The funding will support completion of the Riverhead clinic’s expansion, including new patient care spaces, additional exam rooms for primary care services, and five fully equipped dental treatment rooms. The project also includes upgrades to medical and dental equipment, such as new treatment chairs, a 2D panoramic X-ray system, and other patient care resources for the underserved in Suffolk County.

The state’s Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) prioritized awards based on projects that expanded access to dental care, improved physical diagnostic space to better accommodate wheelchairs, created sensory-friendly areas for neurodiverse patients, and improved access to specialty physical health services in areas lacking adequate resources.

“Thanks to a $2.3 million investment by OPWDD, we are taking a major step forward in making this vision a reality,” Aaron Clark, CEO of Long Island Select Healthcare, said at a news conference.

“Today is not just about funding, though. It’s about equity, dignity, access,” he said. “It’s about ensuring that we’re addressing the healthcare disparities that are real and present with those living with disabilities.”

The grant is the third largest award from Gov. Kathy Hochul’s $25 million 2025-2026 executive budget, aimed at improving access to healthcare and addressing health equity for people with developmental disabilities.

“Like so many other things, our health care system wasn’t built with people with disabilities in mind,” Willow Baer, the OPWDD commissioner, said. “We can do better and we must do better.”

As a result of the clinic’s expansion, Long Island Select Healthcare expects to add at least 10 positions, Theodore Massillon, the organization’s director of marketing and development, told LIBN. That includes “two dentists, a dental hygienist, two dental assistants, two medical providers” and a few licensed practical nurses, he said.

Long Island Select Healthcare’s clinic’s expansion project “includes the build-out and equipping of medical and dental treatment rooms sized for specialized patient equipment, patient lifts, bariatric-capable and wheelchair-accessible chairs, sensory-friendly waiting and exam areas, widened doorways and accessible bathrooms, and the specialty equipment needed to safely serve patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” Clark said in a written statement.

It also “funds the acquisition and outfitting of a new mobile healthcare unit that will deliver primary care and dental services directly into group homes, day habilitation programs, and underserved communities across all of Suffolk County, reaching populations where limited public transit and healthcare deserts have long restricted access for people with developmental disabilities and their caregivers,” he said.

An earlier phase of the project, which includes foundational renovations, is already underway and funded through Long Island Select Healthcare’s committed capital. It is slated for completion this fall, Clark said.

“Together, the two phases are anticipated to be fully implemented by late 2026 to early 2027 and will significantly expand the number of individuals with developmental disabilities served annually by Long Island Select Healthcare across Long Island,” Clark said.