A new primary care facility in Crown Heights is aiming to change how older adults and other residents access healthcare by bringing comprehensive, community-centered services closer to home.
TeamCare Medical celebrated the grand opening of its new location at 629 Park Place this month with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by healthcare leaders, elected officials and community partners. The site is designed to deliver what organizers describe as a “whole-person: model of care, integrating medical services with social supports under one roof.
Ziad Farah, MD, MBA, chief medical officer of TeamCare, said the program is rooted in collaboration and accessibility.
“We’re very excited. We’re delivering a whole care approach in our [TeamCare] program. We’re collaborating with community practices, community-based organizations, and we’re going to create a unique integrated model for all our patients,” Farah said in an interview before the event.
He emphasized the importance of bringing healthcare directly into neighborhoods — especially for older adults.
“There’s a need in healthcare, especially for older adults, to bring care locally, make it close, make it accessible. I’m looking at it from a patient’s perspective,” Farah said. “Our hands are extended to our community partners, to our collaborators and to our community.”
The new Crown Heights facility embodies this approach not only in philosophy but also in design. The first floor houses primary care and aligned specialty services, while the second floor will operate as a social daycare program — a space intended to keep older adults engaged, socialized and supported.
Tara Buonocore-Rut, president and CEO of CenterLight Health System and TeamCare Medical, said the model builds on decades of experience caring for seniors through the PACE program, or Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly.
“CenterLight has always championed innovation and holistic models of care. And our leadership in the PACE program reflects this commitment,” Buonocore-Rut said during her presentation.
“For more than 40 years, we’ve been pioneers in care for older adults across New York City.”
PACE, she explained, is widely regarded as a gold standard for coordinated, interdisciplinary care that supports seniors’ independence and well-being. However, eligibility requirements leave many older adults without access to those services.
“There’s a disparity between people who are eligible and not eligible for PACE services. And many individuals could benefit from PACE-like services but are not eligible for the program,” she said. “What we’re trying to do with this location and with TeamCare Medical is to provide and coordinate high-quality primary care holistically to people who probably could need and benefit from PACE that aren’t eligible. Everyone should have access to that.”
The addition of a social day care component is a key part of the vision, Buonocore-Rut added, noting that isolation can be just as damaging as untreated medical conditions.
“One of the keys to making sure that people age independently is keeping them in a community, socialized, engaged,” she said. “So many people are home, not really engaged. They lose everything. They lose their network. They lose their family, and a ton of loss of independence.”
By creating a space where older adults can receive medical care, meals and social interaction in one location, TeamCare Medical hopes to address both health outcomes and quality of life.
“Bringing them to a location, keeping them engaged, keeping them with their peers, giving them food, giving them access to all these wonderful things is amazing for their health and well-being,” Buonocore-Rut said. “We know it works on the PACE side of the business, so why shouldn’t it work for everyone else?”
TeamCare Medical is now open at 629 Park Place in Crown Heights. For more information, click here.
