PCDC Awarded Grant from Wells Fargo to Support Small Primary Care Practices in Disinvested Communities

Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC) was recently awarded a grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation Open for Business (OFB) program to provide training and technical assistance (TA) to minority-owned and operated primary care practices to aid in their recovery from the pandemic’s economic and community health impact.

Small primary care practices are vital to communities, enabling the practice and its owners and employees to thrive while also allowing local community members to engage safely in their neighborhoods – going to work, attending school and places of worship, volunteering, shopping, and so on. This “double-impact” is critical to enabling Black, African American, Latinx, Asian American, and other minority-owned and -led businesses and communities to grow beyond their pre-COVID-19 circumstances.

PCDC will serve at least 75 businesses across Wells Fargo’s New York, New Jersey, and California markets with customized, one-on-one TA.

In addition to TA, PCDC will provide a web-based “Small Practice Management Essentials” (SPME) course for practices to bolster the skills of front desk, administrative, and unlicensed staff in contributing to the practices’ wellbeing. This program will grow the skills of the front office staff – who are often drawn from local communities and reflect the racial and ethnic make-up of those communities. The program focuses on leveling the playing field so that small practices can benefit from a more nuanced understanding of the health care market.

Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC) is a 28-year-old nationally recognized nonprofit and community development financial institution that helps health care businesses in disinvested communities achieve health equity and be financially successful. Since its inception, PCDC has provided affordable capital to expand health care access in marginalized communities, supported thousands of practices to improve their performance and financial footing, and advocated for meaningful policy change to improve access to high-quality care for all.