The new Obama Center health care facility opened in Ward 8 this month. Image courtesy of Bread of the City

This article was first published in Street Sense Media.

After years of having to pay for transportation to cross the Anacostia River to receive health care, residents of wards 7 and 8, largely disconnected by the Anacostia River from DC’s high-quality health facilities, have a new option.

The Michelle Obama Southeast Center of Bread for the City, located at 1700 Good Hope Road SE, opened its doors this earlier this month. The facility offers primary care, dental services, vision services and behavioral services, as well as examinations, medications and lab tests. The Obama Center is a federally qualified community health center, which means that federal funding supports the center, providing low-barrier healthcare to all residents. All patients will be seen, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay, Bread for the City spokesperson Kenrick Thomas said.

Opening the medical center east of the Anacostia River was done strategically, according to Bread for the City’s press release. Access to quality healthcare has been a major obstacle for clients in the Southeast, a region of the District that has been fighting poverty for years. That poverty, geographically connected to lower-quality environmental conditions, means the need for medical care is higher in this area, based on research by the DC Policy Center.

That organization has also shown reduced access to pharmacies and common medication in Southeast DC. Providing a medical center in the backyards of clients reduces the need for transportation, which is especially hard to find for low-income residents.

A northwest Bread for the City is in Ward 2 at 1525 7th Street NW. Both facilities provide medical services, free groceries, and clothing and toiletry packs. Donations and volunteers make possible distribution of food and personal items, at no charge.

Michelle Levine is a junior journalism major at the University of Maryland. She’s hoping to turn her passion for research and reporting into a career in investigative journalism. While at UMD, she has found additional passions for video and photojournalism and hopes to use her skills with the camera to tell stories about the homeless population in the District of Columbia. Originally from the suburbs of Chicago, she is excited to be working and attending school in a new city.