Saint Peter’s Healthcare System opens newly expanded Family Health Center in New Brunswick

NEW BRUNSWICK - Saint Peter’s Healthcare System opened its newly expanded and modernized Saint Peter’s Family Health Center on March 6.

Located at 123 How Lane, Saint Peter’s Family Health Center has undergone a $12 million modernization and expansion project that was partly funded by a $5 million state budget appropriation.

At the opening, legislators, community partners, board members, physicians and staff were welcomed with a blessing by The Most Reverend James F. Checchio, bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen.

The Center offers primary and specialty care with services including adult medicine; women’s obstetrical and gynecological care, including prenatal care; pediatrics; physical therapy; laboratory services; and behavioral health counseling.

Saint Peter’s Family Health Center has 60,000 visits per year, but the 73,000 square-foot facility will now have the capacity for 100,000 visits.

Saint Peter’s expanded and upgraded 49 adult, pediatric and women’s health exam rooms to 76; added a new on-site outpatient laboratory; expanded the behavioral health area; created a large physical therapy space; renovated the reception area; and performed infrastructure upgrades to the heating/ventilation and air conditioning systems and electrical services.

"Always recognizing that we are our brother and sister’s keeper, Saint Peter’s has been addressing the diverse health needs of our community for over 116 years," said New Brunswick Mayor Jim Cahill. "This revitalized space will expand the ever-advancing range and quality of services available to our residents, ensuring that they receive the absolute best care in a modern and welcoming environment."

About ninety percent of the individuals cared for at Saint Peter’s Family Health Center are covered by the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid and/or Medicaid Managed Care of the New Jersey Hospital Care Payment Assistance Program (charity care). 34 percent of city residents live below the federal poverty level.

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To address this, the Family Health Center launched a program to educate patients about benefits for which they may be eligible. This includes information about assistance with food, childcare, bills, tax credits, transportation challenges that may impact access to care and more.

Because more than half of Saint Peter’s patients speak a language other than English, most staff are bilingual or use an interpreter system that can interpret over 100 different languages.

"I am so excited that we’ve arrived at this moment," said Leslie D. Hirsch, president and CEO of Saint Peter’s Healthcare System. "Saint Peter’s Catholic mission of humble service to humanity comes to life daily at the Family Health Center. The Family Health Center provides comprehensive clinical services, but a big part of what we do is to focus on social determinants of health, including food insecurity and other environmental factors that impact a patient’s overall wellbeing."

Also, to reduce food insecurity among its patients, the Family Health Center is launching The Saint Peter’s Market stocked with fresh produce and nonperishable food, as well as personal care items including diapers, wipes, and hygiene products. Predictive analytics gleaned from screening data will assist in assessing patient’s risk for illness and hospitalization based on social determinants of health.

"It is a marvelous facility and a wonderful accomplishment that the city of New Brunswick, the county of Middlesex, and all of us in the state of New Jersey are better because of the completion of this project," said Assembly Speaker Craig J. Coughlin (D-19). "For so many of us here, this is an extension of our faith and I’m inspired by the commitment to care for the most vulnerable communities."

The Saint Peter’s Population Health team helps connect patients to community resources and services such as food pantries, mental health hotlines, tax preparation assistance, transportation services, housing resource guides and more. Saint Peter’s bilingual Resource Services team also helps patients navigate and enroll in insurance and financial assistance programs.

Funding for the project came from a $5 million state budget appropriation, Hirsch said.

What patients will find at the Family Health Center

The Pediatric Health Center, which provides primary and specialty care for children from newborn to age 18. Administering more than 26,000 immunizations, the Center is a leader in the "Vaccines for Children" program, a federally funded program that provides vaccines at no cost to children who otherwise might not be vaccinated due to an inability to pay. Physicians are trained to be aware of a patient’s medical, cultural and financial needs.

The Women’s Health Center offers obstetrical care to women, from prenatal, intrapartum to postpartum care, as well as gynecological services. Services include nutritional counseling, social work referrals, financial counseling, ultrasound surveillance and co-management with referral to Saint Peter’s Maternal Fetal-Medicine Division due to high risk factors if needed. These patients account for approximately 1,500 deliveries and 19,000 obstetrical/gynecological outpatients per year.

Maternity patients 18 and older can access behavioral health services under QIP-NJ (Quality Improvement Program-New Jersey) at Saint Peter’s Family Health Center. Saint Peter’s partners with behavioral health agencies in the community to provide services to these patients.

The For KEEPS program (Kids Embraced and Empowered through Psychological Services) is a short-term acute partial-hospitalization, state-of-the-art unit designed to help children ages 5-17 with behavioral health issues. The healthcare professionals at For KEEPS, which is a service of The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital, offer mental health diagnoses and intensive treatment to children who suffer from emotional and behavioral difficulties. Anyone can refer a child to this program, including schools, physicians, agencies and parents.

The Dorothy B. Hersh Child Protection Center is a state-designated child protection center, providing crisis intervention, child abuse assessments and referrals to community resources. The Center has established working relationships with local offices of the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP), prosecutors’ offices, and many local mental health providers, pediatricians, schools and police departments within the seven counties of the state’s central region. It was the only Child Protection Center in the state to stay open during the pandemic.

As a part of its expansion, Saint Peter’s Family Health Center now offers onsite physical therapy to patients 18 and older.

The Family Health Center has added an onsite outpatient laboratory. Patients can have their lab tests where they receive medical care, saving time and reducing the need for additional appointments, time off and travel.

To learn more, visit saintpetershcs.com/familyhealthcenter.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Saint Peter’s opens expanded Family Health Center in New Brunswick