A Partnership between CentraState Healthcare, Rutgers, and VNACJ Community Health Centers, New Freehold Community Health Center Expected to Open December, 2018, at 597 Park Avenue
The VNACJ, Inc. Community Health Center, a strategic affiliate of the nonprofit organization Visiting Nurse Association Health Group’s Children and Family Health Institute, has announced the opening of the Greater Freehold Community Health Center in Freehold Borough, New Jersey in Monmouth County, tentatively scheduled to open December, 2018, at 597 Park Avenue in Freehold (the former location of Foodtown). The site will also serve as the headquarters for VNA Health Group’s Children and Family Health Institute.
The opportunity to better serve the Freehold Borough community brings together three like-minded and mission-centered organizations: CentraState Healthcare System, an independent, not-for-profit health organization in Freehold, New Jersey; Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the VNACJ Community Health Center, part of VNA Health Group’s Children and Family Health Institute, one of three of the organization’s programmatic initiatives.
The new federally qualified health center will provide access to health care through a unique academic community partnership that is responsive to the cultural and linguistic diversity of populations in the service area, providing holistic family-centered care. The 25,000-square-foot building will be split into two areas. One will serve as the primary and specialty health care center, which will be run by the CentraState Family Medicine Residency Program, sponsored by the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. The second area of the building will be used as administrative offices for VNA Health Group’s Children and Family Health Institute’s headquarters.
Thanks to a generous grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, VNA Health Group’s Children and Family Health Institute, which will also be the “lead agency,” will establish the Center as a way to leverage community resources and improve health outcomes for individuals and families in the greater Freehold community in western Monmouth County. Staff at the medical center will provide primary care, health screenings and education, prenatal care, podiatry, and nutrition counseling and diabetic education to individuals and families free of charge.
“Since 1912, VNA Health Group has responded to the needs of the community by providing public health nursing,” said Steven Landers, MPH, MD, President and CEO of VNA Health Group. “Our new community health center in Freehold is a natural extension of the work that our Children’s and Family Health Institute is already doing to meet the needs of an extremely vulnerable population, who may not have had adequate access to coordinated health care in the past. We are thrilled and honored to be partnering with these organizations.”
Partner organization CentraState HealthCare System will relocate its residency program to the site to enhance the opportunity for training of primary care physicians. Currently, CentraState’s physician residents are able to take advantage of CentraState’s residency program through their Family Medicine Center, sponsored by Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. The new Center will provide a new location for resident training and education.
“As an academic medical organization, we believe it is critical to offer a residency training program that’s meaningful and impactful not just for the medical residents, but also for the community at large,” said John Gribbin, President and CEO of CentraState. “This partnership aligns perfectly with our mission to provide disease prevention and emphasize wellness for patients. It also encourages family practice residents to remain in New Jersey. There is a shortage of primary care physicians nationwide and this partnership addresses that issue by combining the latest medical advances and clinical practice with the VNA Health Group’s expertise in providing community health programs.”
The Greater Freehold Community Health Center will be the fourth federally qualified health center throughout Monmouth County but the first to bring together the three organizations in this unique partnership. Additional VNACJ FQHC facilities include the Center for Early Childhood Development and Family Support, the Center for Pediatric Home Care, and the Center for Primary Care and Public Health. These Centers offer expanded community health outreach, school-based safety net programs, and overall services for children and families.
“One of our primary goals with the new Center is to provide better care coordination for the greater Freehold community,” said Tom Thees, Interim Executive Director for the Community Health Centers at VNA Health Group. “We hope that through our meaningful partnership with CentraState and Rutgers and by having our Children and Family Health Institute headquartered in the same building, we will be able to provide better care coordination services, smoother healthcare transitions, and be able to utilize new technology like Telehealth and mobile tablets to have a larger statewide impact.”
“We are delighted that Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School faculty and residents at Centrastate will be caring for patients at the new federally qualified health center in Freehold,” said Alfred F. Tallia, MD, MPH, chair of the department of Family Medicine and Community Health at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. “The partnership among Rutgers, CentraState and the VNAHG is yet another example of our commitment to the health of the central New Jersey communities.
Eventually, the new Greater Freehold Community Health Center is expected to include 32 primary care staff, 14 CentraState family medicine staff, and 36 Children and Family Health Institute staff.
About VNA Health Group’s Children and Family Health Institute
From pediatric home care and early intervention programs to prenatal care, primary care, and dental health, the Children and Family Health Institute at Visiting Nurse Association Health Group supports people of all ages with more than 20 programs and services. We strive for every child and family in New Jersey to be happy and healthy by linking vital community resources to those who need them.
Each year, more than 54,000 parents and children rely on the Children and Family Health Institute to access the care and services they need to achieve their best level of health and well-being. For more information, please visit https://vnahg.org/children-and-family-health.
About CentraState Healthcare System
CentraState Healthcare System is an independent, not-for-profit health organization located in Freehold, New Jersey (Monmouth County) and established in 1971. The system includes an acute care hospital, an ambulatory campus, three senior living communities, and a charitable foundation. We also offer a residency training program for family practice physicians and geriatric fellows in affiliation with the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
In working to make health care services more convenient for people throughout our region, we have added offices in Jackson, Monroe, East Windsor, and Marlboro. These locations offer patients a range of services – from primary and urgent care (East Windsor and Marlboro) to rehabilitation and laboratory services – right in their own communities. For more information, please visit https://www.centrastate.com/.
About Rutgers University’s Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
As one of the nation’s leading comprehensive medical schools, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in education, research, health care delivery, and the promotion of community health. Part of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School encompasses 20 basic science and clinical departments, and hosts centers and institutes including The Cardiovascular Institute, the Child Health Institute of New Jersey, and the Women’s Health Institute. The medical school has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as among the top 100 medical schools in the nation and No. 1 in the state for research and primary care.
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, an RWJBarnabas Health facility and the medical school’s principal affiliate, comprise one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers. Clinical services are provided by more than 500 faculty physicians in 200+ specialties and subspecialties as part of Rutgers Health, the clinical arm of Rutgers University. To learn more about Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, visit rwjms.rutgers.edu.
About Visiting Nurse Association Health Group
Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) Health Group is New Jersey’s largest not-for-profit visiting nurse association and visiting physician service that helps individuals and families achieve their best level of health and well-being by providing home health, hospice, palliative and community-based care, and operating private-pay personal care services. A full range of primary care services is available through VNACJ Community Health Centers. Our unique joint partnership model with health systems leverages clinical and technical resources to operate Robert Wood Johnson Visiting Nurses, VNA of Englewood, VNA Health Group of New Jersey (Barnabas Health Home Care and Hospice, VNA of Central Jersey Home Care and Hospice), Visiting Physician Services, and Visiting Nurse Association of Ohio. Currently, VNA Health Group employs more than 2,000 staff members and cares for more than 120,000 people each year.
VNA Health Group is accredited by Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAP). VNA Health Group was founded in 1912 and has continued to serve vulnerable populations such as children, older adults, and those with disabling and chronic illness or facing the end of life. For more information about VNA Health Group, please visit www.vnahg.org.