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In the summer of 1957, Dr. Geraldine Pederson-Krag, a psychiatrist
who had offices in the Huntington area, met with a group of her
colleagues to discuss the issue of providing affordable help for
people with emotional problems who could not afford private care.
Several months later in a rented home in East Northport, several
highly qualified therapists and two social workers began volunteering
their services in the treatment of individuals who paid for their
services based on a sliding scale. In 1962 "the clinic" moved from
its first home in East Northport to the corner of Main Street and
Prime Avenue in Huntington.
In the early 1960's, this struggling clinic was incorporated as a not-for-profit
corporation, and contracted with the Suffolk County Division of Health for the purpose of
their support in the form of deficit funding so that a greater number of individuals
seeking help could be served.
This fledging organization in 1966 had at its helm Eugene W. Denton,
Ph.D. as its Executive Director, Dr. Geraldine Pederson-Krag, psychiatrist,
as Medical Director and Fay Fraser as the Administrative Director,
and the clinic moved to bigger and better quarters on Elm Street
in Huntington.
In April 1975, in order to honor its primary founder, the name
of the clinic was changed to The Geraldine Pederson-Krag Clinic.
The mental health clinic flourished; however, in 1978 a fire devastated
the clinic and once again a relocation was necessary. The move was
made to an empty school on the corner of Jericho Turnpike and Route
110. The clinic remained there through the building's renovation
into an office building, and remained at that site until 1993.
In 1983 in an effort to reflect the growing number of services and programs offered
to the community, the center once again changed its name to its current Pederson-Krag Center, Inc.
The period beween the early 1980's and the present time was a period
of unprecedented growth. From Dr. Pederson-Krag's vision of offering
mental health services to the community, the agency expanded through
the years in response to the needs of the community. The agency
currently offers a number of comprehensive programs reflecting a
continuity of all outpatient services at six sites across Suffolk
County.
Updated 4/12/04
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