Press Release

June 13, 2006
Contact: Anna Farneski
(908) 377-1681
Contact: Kaylyn Kendall Dines
(973) 972-3000

UMDNJ Announces New Health Services for Families in New Brunswick Area
Also unveils Spanish version of the Eric B. Chandler Health Center website

NEW BRUNSWICK—Today Dr. Bruce C. Vladeck, interim president of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, announced the opening of a health care facility for medically underserved families and unveiled a Spanish-language website for Hispanic families.

Dr. Vladeck led the cutting of a ribbon during a ceremony marking the official opening of the Eric B. Chandler Health Center Church Street Annex. Patients of this new location will receive primary care and preventive health services at 123 Church Street in New Brunswick. The Annex, which is part of the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, is a satellite branch of the Eric B. Chandler Health Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC).

"With the expansion of the Eric B. Chandler Health Center we will better fulfill our mission of providing quality, culturally sensitive, state-of-the-art medical care for underserved people throughout Central New Jersey," said Dr. Vladeck. "Since its creation in 1988, the Center has become a critical healthcare link for thousands of people annually, and those numbers will only increase with today's expansion."

During the ceremony, the Spanish version of the Eric B. Chandler Health Center website was unveiled to highlight available services and increase access to health care for Hispanic families. The website address is: http://www2.umdnj.edu/chandweb/.

"The Center's leadership team identified the need to have the Chandler Health Center web site translated into Spanish," said Dr. Peter S. Amenta, interim dean of the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. "The Community Interpreter Project staff, based in the office of Community Health at the medical school translated the web site to give patients access to important health information in their own language."

The Annex has 2,100 square feet and includes two medical exam rooms, two units for dental care, a patient education classroom, and office space. The Annex staff includes a physician, a dentist, a dental hygienist, and a billing clerk/receptionist.

While there are more than 40,000 patient visits annually at the main site, about 6,000 patient visits are expected in the first year of The Annex. Like the main site, services will include: family planning, emergency medical care, follow up for hospitalized patients who have no access to primary care; preventive, restorative, and emergency dentistry, HIV counseling and testing, interpreter services, case coordination, and health education and emergency transportation will also be provided.

Pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, infectious disease, podiatry and clinical social service will be provided at both sites. Referral services that will be provided include emergency care, mental health counseling and treatment, physical and occupational therapy, and substance abuse.

The Eric B. Chandler Health Center (EBCHC) is a comprehensive, family oriented community health center that opened in 1988. EBCHC was designated as a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in January 1991 and received Section 330 funding in October 1993.

Services provided by contract include diagnostic radiology and pharmacy services needed for quality continuity of clinical care. Referral services that are provided include emergency care, mental health counseling and treatment, physical and occupational therapy, substance abuse and other medical specialties not provided on site.

Dr. Eric B. Chandler is recognized as one of New Brunswick's most distinguished civic leaders. He was one of the organizers and a long-standing member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. A resident of New Brunswick since 1943, he was one of the original members of the Board of Directors of the Urban League of Greater New Brunswick, and served as president for 13 years and later as executive secretary.