Whitney M. Young Health Center

Mission: 

• Our mission is to provide access to consistent quality healthcare without regard to income.

Vision:

• Our vision is to be a community leader, committed to delivering dependable, compassionate, high quality health care that enhances the well-being of our diverse and changing communities. By partnering with our patients, drawing on our expertise and collaborating with other community resources, we will promote and support our patients’ efforts to achieve optimal health goals.

The Whitney M. Young, Jr. Health Center (WYH) was established in 1971 to provide access to consistent quality health care without regard to income. Today, WYH offers primary medical, women’s health, dental, optometry, podiatry and behavioral health services to over 20,000 men, women and children at health centers in Albany, Troy and Watervliet. School-based health centers provide medical care in three Albany elementary schools, as well as the Watervliet City School District. A mobile health unit, Whitney on Wheels, provides medical care at schools, public housing, residential treatment centers and community centers in Albany and Rensselaer counties. Through a collaborative dental program with the Healthy Capital District Initiative, Seal a Smile, delivers preventative dental care at schools throughout the community and has recently added on-site restorative care to over 70 schools. WYH is proud to be a provider for the WIC program in the region.

The health center was named in honor of Whitney Moore Young, Jr., executive director of the National Urban League from 1961 until his untimely death in 1971. Using the Urban League as a platform, Young worked to put an end to segregation and discrimination. He persistently worked within the system to change attitudes, practices and to promote greater cultural sensitivity. His goal was for African Americans to gain access to good jobs, education, housing, health care, and social services.

WYH works to alleviate barriers to accessing care and augment its primary-care services by providing transportation, translation, patient education, nutrition and case management services, as well as by employing culturally diverse clinical and support staff. More than 8 percent of the diverse patient population reports a language other than English best serves them. To assist these patients, WYH employs Spanish  interpreters and utilizes two commercial language interpretation services.

WYH is licensed by the New York State Department of Health and has been recognized, for a fourth time, by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Level 3 PCMH at the Albany, Troy and Watervliet centers. In 2019, WYH was recognized by the HRSA Health Center program with quality improvement awards (QIA), including the Health Center Quality Leader Award, for ranking in the top 30 percent of health centers nationally for clinical quality. WYH also received 2019 QIAs for Health Disparities Reducer, Access Enhancer and Advancing HIT for Quality.

WYH’s disorder programs are licensed by New York State Office of Addiction and Supports (OASAS). The methadone-maintenance treatment program (MMTP) is also accredited by The Joint Commission. WYH is a member of the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) and the Community Health Care Association of New York State (CHCANYS).

WYH is committed to providing safe, high-quality health care and has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for ambulatory health care and behavioral health care.

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