East Harlem Council for Human Services, Inc.

Since 1965, the East Harlem Council for Human Services, Inc. (EHCHS) has provided the highest quality of fully bilingual health and human services to the East Harlem community, through the leadership of a Board of Directors comprised predominantly of community residents and users of services. In 1974, EHCHS established the Boriken Neighborhood Health Center to address the tremendous health-related needs of El Barrio. Boriken's mission is to maintain excellence in providing comprehensive medical, dental, health education and social services to the residents of East Harlem regardless of an individual patient's ability to pay. We are committed to addressing the health inequities experienced by the residents of the communities we serve and mitigating the social influences of health. East Harlem's 117,750 residents experience the highest rates of asthma in the nation. They also have high incidences of HIV/AIDS, diabetes and heart disease which are among the highest in the country. Fifty-two percent of East Harlem residents are Latino, 36 percent are African American, seven percent are Caucasian, and two percent are persons of other races/ethnicities. Thirty seven percent of the residents of EHCHS's service area live below the poverty level; only 40 percent live above 200 percent of the poverty line. The fully bilingual and culturally competent services which Boriken provides to this vibrantly diverse community are a vital resource for East Harlem’s most vulnerable residents. Boriken’s services include: adolescent health; adult medicine; asthma education and support services; comprehensive HIV-related education and outreach, counseling and testing, dental; family medicine; geriatrics; gynecology (including diagnostic colposcopy); nutrition; obstetrics; onsite laboratory; pediatrics; pharmacy (operated by private pharmacist onsite); podiatry; pulmonology, social work and transportation.