by KYW's Michelle Durham
A Fort Washington, Pa. couple has given Children's Hospital of Philadelphia a $15-million gift which the hospital will use to build and support a primary care center in Norristown (Montgomery County).
CHOP president and CEO Dr. Steven Altshuler says Athena and Nicholas Karabots are giving the gift of health:
"Parts of Norristown, and other parts of Montgomery County as well, are medically underserved, so there is a population of children who don't have good access to a medical center. This will give us the opportunity to build a primary care center, to give medical care to all children who need it."
The medical center will be located on a Main Street property close to the courthouse, and should be up and running by the end of next year:
"The centers are quite large. Typically we will have upwards of ten pediatricians, who can provide care to many thousands of children. Now the kids become part, in effect, of the CHOP network of care. They are followed by one electronic medical record."
And Altshuler says that it will be more than a place for regular doctor's visits:
"Immunizations are very important to us. Obesity is a very big problem in this population now, so we will be developing some novel programs to deal with that as well."
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