KENTUCKY, MARCH 21, 2022 – Community Hospitality Healthcare Services (CHHS) announces the successful closing of $15,000,000 in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation to Sterling Health Center, Inc. (SHC) for the construction of two new facilities in medically underserved areas in Kentucky. The new construction in Mt. Sterling consolidates three existing clinics into a two-story, 20,000 square foot (SF) facility and the second 2,500 SF health clinic, located in Carlisle, will be moved to a new 9,400 SF building, both facilities will offer primary care, dental, behavioral health and substance abuse services.

“We take great pride in supporting institutions that promote equitable healthcare access among all populations,” said CHHS founder and Executive Director Ben Cirka. “CHHS strives to improve access to health services where it is most needed and recognizes the added barriers to quality treatment, particularly within low-income and rural communities. We are pleased to support Sterling Health Center, Inc. in their efforts to expand their essential services throughout the State of Kentucky.”

According to SHC, both clinics have experienced significant growth recently, with the number of patients served reaching 3.6 times the number served in 2015. The new facilities will accommodate increased demand and alleviate travel difficulties for residents of the rural communities in accessing high-quality medical care. It is anticipated that the new clinics will accommodate 10,000 more outpatients annually by the third year of operations, most of whom are considered low-income. Both facilities will address the growing substance abuse issue surrounding the areas by providing access to quality substance abuse services. In addition to extensive services offered, the two facilities will create an estimated 39 and retain 56 full-time permanent jobs.

Sterling Health Solutions, Inc. began treating patients in 2012 out of a single site with a single healthcare provider. Since then, SHC has expanded to provide a wide variety of health services in the Gateway region of Kentucky, including counties of Montgomery, Bath, Nicholas, Clark, Bourbon and Powell. SHC is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation formed to increase access to medical, dental, and mental health care to populations in Appalachian Eastern Kentucky. As an FQHC, SHC provides integrated primary care services to all persons, regardless of their ability to pay.

CHHS specializes in investing in healthcare businesses and healthcare infrastructure nationwide. The Community Development Entity offers flexible financing to projects located in medically underserved low-income communities throughout the U.S. To date, CHHS has been awarded more than $450MM in federal NMTC allocation to fund various projects, which supported job creation and provided access to quality affordable healthcare and extended services to more than 600,000 low-income persons annually.

In addition to the $15MM in NMTC allocation from CHHS, the project received $7.4MM in State NMTC allocation from the State of Kentucky and US Bancorp Community Development Corporation, a subsidiary of US Bank, served as the project’s tax credit investor.