PCDC Testifies to the NYC Council Community Development Committee

I am Nancy Lager, Director of Project Planning for PCDC - the Primary Care Development Corporation. Thank you for inviting us to testify today. PCDC's goal is to increase the capacity and quality of primary care in underserved communities to achieve our vision of "Excellent Healthcare in Every Neighborhood." PCDC is the only community development financial institution (CDFI) in New York State specifically targeting primary care development, and the largest of only a handful in the U.S. Throughout our history, PCDC has partnered with New York City to provide the capital to build and modernize healthcare facilities, expand practices, and upgrade outmoded equipment, leading to better services for more patients. 

I'm here today to describe how PCDC, as a CDFI, has helped build the City's primary care infrastructure, to inform you of the capital access challenges facing the primary care sector and that PCDC faces as a lender to this sector, and to recommend that the City and PCDC together promote a new strategy to reinvigorate primary care investment in our communities. While I speak as a primary care lender, I believe that our experience is likely applicable to CDFIs serving other sectors.