Construction crews have moved into the Ambrose H. Clement Health Center on Reading Road, kicking off a major renovation and expansion that will bring medical, pharmacy and dental care under one roof in Avondale. The project began this month and is expected to run through spring 2027, with the center remaining open to patients the entire time.
The Cincinnati Health Department held a formal groundbreaking event this month to mark the official launch of construction, according to Spectrum News 1. As Axios reports, the renovation includes plumbing and electrical upgrades, new flooring and fixtures, and other interior work throughout the facility. Once finished, the center will become the new home of the Crest Smile Shoppe at Ambrose Dental Center, consolidating dental services alongside the medical and pharmacy operations already there.
Dental Care Moves In From Rockdale Avenue
The dental relocation is part of the expansion: Crest Smile Shoppe will move into the Ambrose Health Center, integrating dental, medical and pharmacy services in a single location.
Joyce Tate said the project represents more than bricks and mortar, framing it instead as an investment in the health and well-being of the Avondale community and surrounding neighborhoods, per Axios's reporting. That framing lines up with what the numbers show: nearly half of Avondale residents live below the poverty line, per U.S. Census estimates cited by Axios.
A Neighborhood Facing a Steep Health Divide
The stakes behind the expansion go beyond convenience. Cincinnati Health Department community health assessments have documented a roughly 20-year life expectancy gap between Avondale residents, who live to between 66.4 and 68.2 years on average, and wealthier nearby communities like North Avondale, Mount Lookout and Hyde Park, where residents live to between 83.2 and 87.8 years, according to an archival health disparities analysis hosted by the University of Cincinnati Press. Those mortality disparities are linked to chronic illness and broader social determinants of health, the assessment notes.
Cincinnati's 2024 child-poverty indicator ranks 14th among 20 peer communities, according to the Cincinnati Regional Indicators Dashboard. That backdrop helps explain why city officials are treating the Ambrose renovation as more than a facilities upgrade.
The Health Center's Role
The Ambrose H. Clement Health Center serves Avondale residents as part of the Cincinnati Health Department's primary care network.
The facility is being expanded to add dental care alongside its existing medical and pharmacy services.
What Patients Can Expect During Construction
Axios reports that patients could see temporary changes to parking, entrances and pathways as work continues, and the Cincinnati Health Department has said it will alert patients to access changes as construction progresses. The center will stay open throughout the entire renovation.
City of Cincinnati Primary Care, which operates the Ambrose center, serves more than 45,000 patients annually across a network of six primary care centers and 13 school-based health centers run in partnership with Cincinnati Public Schools, per Axios.
Health Access in Avondale
The Ambrose center serves patients in Avondale, alongside the medical and pharmacy services that will be joined by dental care after the renovation.
The Cincinnati Health Department continues to oversee the city's primary care network as the Ambrose renovation moves forward. In the meantime, the center's UC Health Baby Café — a free weekly support group offering lactation consultations and maternal health education that has run out of the facility's community room since April 2023 — serves families.
