Community Initiatives
RWJBarnabas Health believes in reaching beyond the doors of our facilities to not only treat disease, but to help avert it. By addressing health care disparities at their root cause, RWJBarnabas Health has developed a strategy to proactively address the clinical and social factors that affect adverse health outcomes. The RWJBarnabas Health Community Health team is committed to addressing social determinants of health by making sustained investments in local programs and strengthening crucial social and health care infrastructure. The team works in partnership with community leaders, providers, civic organizations and faith-based partners, to expand access to health care, transportation, healthy food, economic mobility, and stable housing in underserved communities across New Jersey.
Under the Community Health umbrella, the system’s Our Healthy Communities initiative, piloted in Newark in 2023 and which is supported by State community health resources, has scaled statewide, with more than $188 million reinvested into our communities to date.
The RWJBarnabas Health Community Health team is comprised of:
- The Community Health team
- The Social Impact and Community Investment team
- The Community and Global Health team
Goals/Priorities
- Access to Care: To improve access to care in the communities we serve across New Jersey, including helping individuals and families navigate appointments, transportation, food and housing resources, and more through our Community Health Worker program and strengthening partnerships with community organizations and Federally Qualified Health Centers.
- Economic Support: To support Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) neighborhoods through employment and training opportunities as well as working with local vendors to promote economic growth in the communities we serve.
- Food and Nutrition Insecurity: To advance food-as-medicine solutions by connecting clinical care, community partnerships and policy efforts to strengthen health, nutrition and food security through innovative programs such as food farmacies, community gardens, KidsFit, the SNAP Navigator program, and Harvest, our Farm to Community Center in Newark.
- Preventative Health: To expand access through community-based screenings, vaccinations, health education, and mobile clinics across New Jersey, as preventative care is the foundation of healthier communities, helping detect disease early, reduce chronic conditions, and improve long-term health outcomes.
- Global Health: To build sustainable partnerships that strengthen health systems through shared expertise, academic collaboration, and skills-based volunteerism. Working with nonprofit organizations like Direct Relief and academic institutions including Ponce Health Sciences University and the University of Puerto Rico, we expand access to care, build local capacity, and improve health outcomes locally and globally.