MENU
Urban Health Plan (UHP) was founded by the late Dr. Richard “Doc” Izquierdo, a dedicated pediatrician and family practitioner, and lifelong Bronx resident, who devoted his career to social justice and health equity. Driven by concern over his community’s declining health and limited healthcare options, he opened the “San Juan Health Center” in 1967. In 1974, recognizing the growing need for accessible primary and specialty care, he expanded his efforts by establishing Urban Health Plan, a healthcare home providing culturally competent care to residents of Hunts Point, Mott Haven, and Morrisania in the Bronx.
Today, Urban Health Plan is a Joint Commission-accredited, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization serving over 89,000 patients annually and employing nearly 1,000 associates and providers. Its network of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) includes a 54,000-square-foot flagship health center, eleven satellite centers (including locations in Corona, Queens, and Central Harlem), twelve school-based health centers, two mental health facilities, and ten administrative and program sites.
A significant portion of Urban Health Plan’s patients are Latinos who face barriers to quality healthcare due to language, cultural, and economic challenges. These challenges result in higher rates of chronic illness, acute conditions, and hospitalizations compared to citywide and statewide averages. UHP’s mission is to improve its communities’ health and quality of life by providing affordable, comprehensive primary and specialty care.
Recognizing that up to 80% of health outcomes are influenced by social determinants such as access to healthy food, income, safe neighborhoods, and reduced exposure to pollution, Urban Health Plan focuses on addressing these factors. The organization meets the community’s basic needs through programs that promote education, workforce development, food distribution, and community engagement.
Urban Health Plan also contributes to the economic vitality of its communities by employing nearly 1,000 providers and staff, many of whom live in the neighborhoods it serves. As a teaching health center, UHP offers Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant (NP/PA) Residency Programs and a Psychiatric Residency Program, training future healthcare professionals to understand the unique challenges and needs of underserved communities.
Nationally recognized for its innovative approach to healthcare, in 2024 Urban Health Plan was awarded a Gold Health Center Quality Leader and Gold Child and Maternal Health badges by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). This placed it among the top 10% of health centers nationwide for providing high-quality care to underserved patients.
The Joint Commission has also highlighted Urban Health Plan as a “Spotlight on Success” for its commitment to performance improvement and excellence in patient care.
Center Program grantee under 42 U.S.C. 254b, and a deemed Public Health Service employee under 42 U.S.C. 233 (g) –(n) “This health center receives HHS funding and has Federal Public Health Service (PHS) deemed status with respect to certain health or health-related claims, including medical malpractice claims, for itself and its covered individuals.