In an effort to bring essential care and services directly to unhoused individuals across the city of Elizabeth, RWJBarnabas Health on Tuesday launched New Jersey’s first Street Medicine Program at Trinitas Regional Medical Center.
Through this initiative, RWJBarnabas Health will deploy a highly trained medical team into the community to meet and care for patients where they are, while also connecting them to physical, mental and behavioral health services, transportation and local clinics for long-term health solutions. The team will travel around the city in a clearly marked van, visiting homeless shelters, transitional housing centers, and other spaces where people experiencing homelessness typically congregate.
The hope is to expand the program to other areas in the state, helping to improve access to care among a particularly vulnerable population.
RWJBH CEO Mark Manigan said the program matches the mission of the system.
“Our Street Medicine Program is born from a culture that recognizes everyone, regardless of circumstance, is deserving of compassion and access to the world-class health care we provide,” he said. “Being the first in New Jersey to put such a focus on the immediate healthcare needs of some of our most vulnerable residents is something in which RWJBarnabas Health takes tremendous pride.”
Unavailable in New Jersey until now, the Street Medicine Program will deliver a full spectrum of care with a broad scope of services to meet the urgent needs of the community, including:
- Urgent & Acute Care
- Chronic Disease Management & Preventive Care
- Mental Health & Street Psychiatry
- Substance Use Support & Harm Reduction
- Service Delivery Methods
- Care Coordination Strategies
“We are proud to launch the Street Medicine Program here at Trinitas Regional Medical Center and support the Elizabeth community,” Trinitas CEO Dr. Nancy DiLiegro said.
“Every single day we see first-hand the impacts of homelessness on one’s physical, mental, and emotional health. This initiative strategically delivers care to those who need it most, helping intervene and prevent a health crisis that would require emergency care.”
Supported through an appropriation by the state of New Jersey, the Street Medicine Program is part of RWJBarnabas Health’s Our Healthy Communities initiative aimed at improving health access and outcomes by addressing disparities and barriers to care.
“The Street Medicine Program advances RWJBarnabas Health’s mission of providing quality, compassionate and accessible care to the communities we serve,” Balpreet Grewal-Virk, the system’s SVP, Community Health, said. “Sending our team out into Elizabeth will be transformative, driving down mortality rates and improving health outcomes for patients in need. This impactful work would not be possible without the support of the state of New Jersey, and we are deeply grateful for that partnership.”
Through Our Healthy Communities, RWJBarnabas Health is partnering with local leaders, health care providers, clergy, civic and community-based organizations to strengthen critical social and health care infrastructure and expand patient access to care, healthy foods, nutrition education, transportation, economic mobility, and stable housing. Through the community health resources from the state of New Jersey, RWJBarnabas Health has reinvested more than $151 million in community health initiatives beyond traditional medical care to build and sustain long-term health for the residents and communities it serves.
“This initiative will be life-changing for our city,” Elizabeth Mayor Christian Bollwage said. “I am grateful to RWJBarnabas Health and the team at Trinitas Regional Medical Center for launching this program that will provide care to the homeless in our city and strengthen community health across the region.”
Led by Trinitas Emergency Department attending physician Dr. Edward Egan, the Street Medicine Program will serve as a reliable entry point for care for people experiencing homelessness and facing additional barriers including lack of health insurance and transportation.
The program will provide specialized medical care to unhoused individuals and enable them to receive needed treatments and intervention for physical and psychiatric concerns.
“I’m excited that we are officially launching the Street Medicine Program and I look forward to helping lead this team,” he said. “We know the unhoused population face disproportionate barriers to receiving the care they need. This program will make a meaningful difference in our patients’ lives and help prevent hospitalizations, ensuring we can continue to deliver world-class care to our patients at TRMC and support the broader Elizabeth community.”
RWJBarnabas Health’s Street Medicine Program is one of several created by the health system to specifically serve New Jersey’s homeless population, which has reached a 10-year high according to the latest annual NJ Counts report, with nearly 14,000 unhoused statewide.
