About

Metro Community Health Center is a Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike (LAL) located in Swissvale, just outside of Pittsburgh, PA.

An FQHC is a community-based organization that provides comprehensive primary care and preventive care, including primary medical care, oral health care, and mental health care services to persons of all ages and identities, regardless of their ability to pay or health insurance status.

Metro offers every patient high quality, compassionate health care. Our theoretical framework for treating patients is twofold, encompassing both comprehensive whole-person care, and patient-centered care.

“Whole-person care”

“Whole-person care” means that we strive to treat and care for every aspect of an individual’s health, mind and body, all under one roof. Having all forms of care in one place allows our providers to collaborate and share information with one another, across multiple health disciplines, in order to deliver the best, most informed care possible. Having all of these services in one place also eliminates many barriers associated with traveling to various appointments and offices.

“Patient-centered care”

“Patient-centered care” means that our providers develop treatment and care plans around each patient’s needs. This takes place on both an individual and community level. On the individual level, our patients, after being given the best possible information about their health and options, partner with their providers in deciding the best course of action for any given health problem. This relationship gives control back to the patient. On the community level, patient-centered care means that we are guided by the needs and desires of the people we serve. Our priorities and direction as an organization come directly from the voices of our patients and communities and we are proud to be here for them.

Mission

We believe that health is more than just the absence of sickness. We feel that health is the well-being of the mind, body, and spirit in the individual and the community. Our mission is to:

To care for the whole person in a safe and respectful setting.
To encourage patients to partner with our clinicians and staff in planning their care.
To respond to those needs with respect for the individual and their beliefs about health and healing.

To be guided by the needs of our patients.
To serve Wilkinsburg and the nearby communities by offering health care to all people, at every stage of life, without regard to their ability to pay.
To serve the un-insured, under-insured, HIV positive, and the LGBT residents of the region.

Vision

Metro Community Health Center envisions a diverse community unburdened by barriers to comprehensive integrated health care, where the whole person and ALL PEOPLE are treated with kindness and expertise.

History

Metro Community Health Center, formerly known as Metro Family Practice, Inc. (MFP) established in 1999 and received Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike (FQHC-LAL) status in 2002. Several characteristics make our practice unique, including (1) our commitment to reaching out to underserved members of our community; (2) our philosophy of holistic, patient-centered health care; (3) our reputation for providing culturally sensitive care to various populations; and (4) the fact that our practice was established by a community-driven call answered by physicians in direct response to the declining availability of health care in our service area.

In the mid-1990’s, a decrease in clinical services occurred when Forbes Health System sold Forbes Metro Hospital and relocated its physicians to other parts of the county. Following the close of the hospital, several private practices and the hospital emergency room in the neighborhood also closed their doors. A community needs assessment revealed that these closures created a growing unmet demand for primary care services. A group of physicians with an intensive background in community and preventive medicine answered this call, recognizing that this unmet need would only be magnified as health care services moved out of the area. In order to maintain and increase access to care, this group of physicians formed Metro Family Practice, Inc., a community health center.

In early 2014, Metro Community Health Center underwent a name change, along with a relocation to enhanced facilities. Formerly known as Metro Family Practice, we wanted our name to reflect our interest in the health and well-being of the community.

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