A converted medical space in Crotona Park East is now offering Bronx residents free blood pressure checks, hearing tests, and nutrition counseling, staffed largely by Lehman College nursing students getting their first taste of hands-on patient care. The Bronx Community Hub held an official ribbon-cutting on October 6, cementing what began as a pandemic-era mutual aid effort into a permanent neighborhood clinic.
The Quadratín Hispano reported on the ribbon-cutting ceremony led by founder Melissa Baker alongside Lehman College. As Bronx Times first reported, the hub occupies a property owned by MBD Community Housing Corp. that had previously sat vacant after Bronx Lebanon left it unused. Baker, now CEO and founder of the Bronx Community Hub, turned the space into a working medical practice serving both residents and Lehman students, per the outlet's reporting.
The concept traces back to the COVID-19 pandemic, when Baker partnered with Lehman students and community organizers to deliver health support and essential aid across the borough — grassroots work that built the trust now underpinning the hub's clinic model, Lehman College says. The hub officially opened its doors last month, the Bronx Times reported, after a September 8 soft opening that ran just one day a week, Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., before the schedule expanded in October. The clinic now plans to remain open year-round on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, per the same outlet's reporting.
Screenings Target a Borough Historically Ranked Last in the State
The services on offer go well beyond a basic checkup. The hub provides asthma education and screenings, hearing tests, blood pressure checks, pulse oximetry, blood glucose checks, body mass index assessments, and exercise classes for older adults, according to Lehman College. The Bronx Times reports the clinic also offers nutrition plans, mental health sessions, and help connecting residents to housing, food assistance, and medical insurance.
That breadth of care addresses a stark historical statistic: Bronx County consistently ranked 62nd out of New York's 62 counties when County Health Rankings & Roadmaps used ordinal rankings. The organization has since shifted to data-informed Health Groups, so the historical 62nd-place ranking is not a current annual ordinal ranking. Every neighborhood district in the Bronx, including Crotona Park East and Morrisania, shows rates of diabetes, obesity, and hypertension that equal or exceed New York City citywide averages, according to the New York State Comptroller's office.
Patients at the hub said its walking-distance location makes healthcare more accessible, especially since the majority of those seeking care are seniors, the Bronx Times reported. Elgoria Harrison, dean of Lehman College's School of Health Sciences, Human Services, and Nursing, said the college wants to be an anchor in the community. Harrison added that the neighborhood has many seniors and that local activities could reduce isolation and increase a sense of belonging, per the outlet.
Nursing Students Get Clinical Hours, Residents Get Care
Lehman College has nearly 300 nursing students, and those placed at the hub are accompanied by a clinical instructor as they conduct house visits and work directly inside the clinic, according to the Bronx Times. The college's nursing programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education across undergraduate, master's, and Doctor of Nursing Practice tracks, giving students the clinical field hours required for professional licensure.
Nursing student Ruth Balbuena said she values community activism and healthcare that supports holistic individual development, the outlet reported. Fellow student Alexander Mota said the learning facility can improve healthcare access while providing social work, housing, food, and Medicaid-renewal assistance. Rayhaan Ahmad, another Lehman nursing student, said the hub provides community-based care for people who lack access to health equipment, counseling, or community resources.
Beyond nursing, Lehman's partnership at the hub stretches across multiple academic disciplines, including social work, nutrition and exercise science, and speech-language pathology, the college says — turning the space into a multidisciplinary healthcare and social services center rather than a single-specialty clinic. The hub also works with organizations across the Bronx that connect residents to accessible aid and resources, according to the Bronx Times.
A Longtime Housing Nonprofit's Latest Health Partnership
MBD Community Housing Corp., the landlord behind the hub's space, was founded in 1974 by local activists in Crotona Park East to reverse neighborhood disinvestment, according to City & State New York. The nonprofit, whose name stands for Mid-Bronx Desperadoes, manages properties in the area. Derrick Lovett, president of MBD Community Housing Corp., rented the vacant space for the hub and assisted with the clinic renovations, the Bronx Times reported; Lovett said families should come together to provide services to constituents.
This is not MBD's first foray into pairing housing with health care. The organization previously co-developed 425 Grand Concourse in 2022, a 277-unit affordable housing project that integrated an on-site health center and a CUNY Hostos academic facility, according to ILE Strategies. The Bronx Community Hub follows that same playbook of co-locating clinical services inside community housing infrastructure.
Looking ahead, the hub hopes to expand its services by opening the program to dental students, the Bronx Times reported. It also plans to pursue additional funding for new scales and EKG machines, as well as compensation for faculty and adjuncts, as it works to ensure its long-term sustainability in the Bronx.
