History
Esperanza Health Center began under the leadership of Dr. Carolyn Klaus in the late 1980s. Dr. Klaus, working with a number of concerned health professionals from several urban Philadelphia churches, recognized that the residents of North Philadelphia's Latino community faced a significant lack of access to affordable primary health care services. They discerned the need for a holistic, high quality, and culturally-sensitive health center to serve this primarily Spanish-speaking community. A Robert Wood Johnson Foundation start-up matching grant, along with broad support both within and outside of this community, enabled Esperanza to begin operations. Esperanza opened its doors in June 1989 on N. 5th Street in North Philadelphia, the main Latino commercial section of the city known as El Centro do Oro ("Center of Gold"), as a small walk-up clinic with two physicians.
Over time, word spread that Esperanza offered affordable, bilingual primary care. The health center eventually outgrew its original site and moved to a new location in the Juniata Park section of the city. During the past two years, the health center has continued to expand and now serves patients from two health center locations.
In the summer of 2006, Esperanza opened its new satellite office location on N. 5th Street in El Centro de Oro, just across the street from Esperanza's original location. And, in late 2007, Esperanza moved its main office again, relocating to a new office space at 3156 Kensington Avenue, at the intersection of Kensington & Allegheny Avenues in North Philadelphia.
As Esperanza approaches its 20th Anniversary of serving patients in North Philadelphia, Esperanza - "hope" in Spanish - continues to mean "hope" to those who speak the language of the barrio, and it means care and concern to those who come here for their health and for the health of their families.