Mayor Ras J. Baraka, Department of Health and Community Wellness Director Ketlen Baptiste Alsbrook, and Newark Municipal Council Members opened the new Mary Eliza Mahoney Health Center at the Speedway Avenue Elementary School, located at 701 South Orange Avenue in the city’s West Ward, today.
The new clinic will operate at the elementary school, providing West Ward residents with adult, pediatric, and behavioral health care, such as counseling and medication management. It has a separate entrance and exit from the school that leads out into the parking lot that sits on the South Orange Avenue corridor. The clinic will not interfere with or disrupt the school’s operations. The facility will be open Mondays through Fridays, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“Providing our residents – particularly those who are uninsured or underinsured – with access to top quality health services is one of the highest priorities of our administration,” Mayor Baraka said. “By opening this clinic in the West Ward, we are offering critical services directly to this neighborhood, meeting residents right where they are, and in turn improving the health and quality of life for them. I encourage all residents to take advantage of all the services the new clinic offers to benefit their families.”
While the new clinic is designed to support residents of the West Ward, Bradley Court, and both family members and students attending Speedway Avenue Elementary School, it will be open to all Newark residents. The city’s Department of Health and Community Wellness has been seeking to establish a footprint in the West Ward due to its high rate of uninsured and residents in need of access to its service.
“We have officially opened the Mary Eliza Mahoney Health Center at Speedwayunder the Mayor’s leadership, in partnership with Newark Public Schools, and with a shared vision of bringing community health services to the community- particularly those who find it challenging to navigate our complex heath care system,” said Director Alsbrook. “We have braided our resources together to ensure access to quality health care, regardless of insurance status and ability to pay. We are truly excited to bring quality health care, including adult medical care services, pediatrics, and behavioral health, to the West Ward community and the greater Newark area.”
“I was overjoyed when the city told us they were going to open up the clinic to help thousands of residents in Newark, and especially those right here in my neighborhood,” said West Ward resident Theresa Ellis Wiggins. “So many of my neighbors are without cars and now they can walk to get family health care. This healthcare center doesn’t require appointments and it doesn’t require that you have insurance. So, it surely is a wonderful neighbor to us and I’m grateful to the Mayor and the Department of Health and Community Wellness!”
The health center has a Family Health Practitioner and Behavioral Health Practitioner present, along with support staff: Registered Nurse, Certified Medical Assistant, and Registration Clerks.
Patients will be seen regardless of their insurance status. To schedule an appointment, residents should call 1-800-734-7083. Walk-ins are accepted.
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