As part of its mission to provide quality, accessible health care to low income residents, New Community will be opening a new on-site clinic at NCC Commons Senior using grant funding recently awarded by The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey.
Commons Senior, NCC’s largest residence for seniors and disabled adults located at 140 South Orange Ave. in Newark, will soon boast a 300-square-foot clinic where residents will have unfettered access to primary care services and the medical expertise of a physician and nurse as part of the Visiting Physician Program.
The Foundation awarded NCC a one-year grant of $120,527 to expand the Visiting Physician Program, covering initial start-up costs and some staffing expenses at the new clinic, which is slated to open December 1.
Approximately 237 residents live at NCC Commons Senior and the new clinic will provide basic preventative treatment on site and help to lower the number of visits to the emergency room, according to Sharon Pleasant-Jones, NCC Director of Health and Social Services.
“We’ll get better eyes on them…make sure they’re getting health care,” Pleasant-Jones, a Registered Nurse, said of the residents at Commons Senior, many of whom currently walk next door to NCC Associates during its clinic hours. “A lot of them don’t have primary care providers,” she added.
Marsha Atkind, The Foundation’s Executive Director, wrote in an award letter that she is “delighted to partner with (NCC) on this important project.”
Located on the first floor adjacent to the building’s activity room, the clinic will feature two separate rooms—for the doctor and nurse. NCC Environmental Services renovated the space, which is now ready to be furnished with a patient exam table and medical equipment.
“If they are right on premises, it’ll be easier,” Tenant Association President Larry Coley said of visiting the new clinic, which he plans to frequent. “I think it’ll work out beautifully,” added Coley, 81.
Further, having the on-site clinic provides residents with an opportunity to meet with a doctor and make appointments for initial blood work or to see a specialist—all key steps to ensuring a successful hospital visit in the future, if needed.
“That way they’re not just going to the ER,” Pleasant-Jones said. Social Services worked in collaboration with Philanthropy Officer Tracey Battles, Environmental Services and the Management Department to secure the grant and ready the space, she said.
NCC’s three other on-site clinics are located at Orange Senior at 132 William St. in Orange, Associates at 180 South Orange Ave. in Newark, and Manor Senior at 545 Orange St. in Newark.
