The benefits and care options of the Hackensack Meridian Health & Wellness Center in Clifton are perhaps best described through a potential journey through the state-of-the-art, four-story complex that sits right off Route 3 in the On3 complex.
If you need urgent care, it’s there — 365 days a year. Don’t have a primary care physician? No problem. The center has those doctors available, too — as well as specialists in more than a half-dozen clinical areas, including cardiology, urology and orthopedics.
The services don’t stop there.
If your visit requires labs or imaging — that’s available on site, too. And if you get a prescription during your time there, the Health & Wellness Center has a full-service pharmacy in the building to handle it.
HMH CEO Bob Garrett said the Health & Wellness Center — the fourth of many HMH intends to open — is a big part of the future of health care.
“The whole idea is one-stop shopping,” he told BINJE after a celebratory opening on Thursday. “We see this as a concierge medicine approach, where our team members can walk you literally from place to place.
“And why not? People are busy. They want this kind of convenience.”
That convenience includes ample parking in a deck connected to the facility — and a scheduling system that Garrett said will actually have openings.
“There will be a lot of same-day appointments — that’s a really big part of this, too,” he said. “Who wants to wait weeks or months for an appointment? We want to make it easier.”
And for all the benefits the facility will have for those who are sick, its efforts toward wellness are just as apparent and important, Garrett said.
The Hennessey Institute for Cancer Prevention and Applied Molecular Medicine, which will be able to test and detect pre-cancer activity, will put its headquarters here, thanks to a generous donation from the Mike & Patti Hennessy Foundation.
There will be occupational health services through Hackensack Meridian Works. And there will be one floor devoted to an all-day health evaluation for top business leaders — a complete medical checkup that comes with same-day imaging and lab results.
Specialty services
A look at some of the specialties available at the HMH Health & Wellness Center in Clifton:
- Cardiology
- Dermatology
- Gastroenterology
- Nephrology
- Pulmonology
- Rheumatology
- Urology
In each case, patients will leave with a roadmap of technology and lifestyle changes aimed at preventing disease.
Of course, that can’t happen unless you get there.
That’s why Garrett and HMH are planning an ambitious marketing rollout to let folks know they are ready to help. Being alongside Route 3 — one of the busiest roads in the state — will help awareness, too.
“One thing that was very clear from COVID is that people want to receive care in their homes —or as close to the ir homes as possible,” he said. “This will give people in Clifton, Nutley and nearby communities unprecedented access to care.”
Should a greater level of care be needed, the center is close to nearby HMH medical centers in Hackensack (HUMC) and Glen Ridge (Mountainside).
“Sometimes people will have to travel to big medical centers and that’s absolutely fine,” Garrett said. “Our hospitals still will be a very important part of our ecosystem.
“But these health and wellness centers are going to be treating more and more patients as the technology advances. We want to make it as accessible as possible and as convenient as possible for people to get to. This is the future of medicine.”
Incoming HMH Chief Operating Officer Mark Sparta agreed.
“By bringing a range of physicians and health services under one roof — from primary care to specialty services — we are creating a more coordinated, convenient, and personalized experience for our patients, which we believe will ultimately help them to lead healthier lives,” he said. “This is how healthy happens.”
