Jewish Renaissance Medical Center Receives Grant to Provide Medical Care for Super Storm Sandy Survivors

July 31, 2014

In collaboration with Johnson & Johnson and the Community Foundation of New Jersey, the Jewish Renaissance Medical Center (JRMC) has received a grant of $40,000 from the New Jersey Recovery Fund to address the health status needs of residents of the communities most impacted by the Super Storm Sandy in Middlesex County. Located on the Raritan Bay and the Raritan River, the target communities primarily include Carteret, Highland Park, Old Bridge, Perth Amboy, Sayreville, Woodbridge and South Amboy.

“In our own backyard, we witnessed the devastation that Super Storm Sandy caused so many New Jersey communities,” states Bonnie Petraukas, Executive Director of Corporate Contributions & Community Relations, Johnson & Johnson. “Many families directed all their energy to address immediate needs following the storm. Now as health care issues emerge, this collaboration contributes to long-term recovery for improved overall health.”

The approach to this care is two fold. The full range of preventative and primary care along with the coordination for specialty care will be provided out of JRMC’s “Robert Menendez Medical Arts Building” (RMMAB), its central facility based in downtown Perth Amboy. Care will also be provided through JRMC’s state-of-the-art Mobile Medical Units (MMU) to the affected communities. The MMUs are mobile medical command centers equipped to provide both dental and medical care.

“While we have to all work collectively to respond to the emergent needs affecting storm survivors today, we also need to invest in collaborative strategies that stabilize our surviving families over the long haul, as well as better equipping our impacted communities for the next disaster,” states Hans Dekker, President/CEO of the Community Foundation of New Jersey. “This is the purpose of the New Jersey Recovery Fund- to support strategies that in fact yield true long-term recovery in our communities.”

In addition to direct care and treatment, JRMC will connect storm survivors to its system of support services. This includes benefits counseling, patient navigation, translation, and transportation among others. This includes a structures voucher program to purchase rides and one-way tickets on public rail routes, bus lines and local car services. Tickets will be distributed as needed to program participants to ensure they can access our RMMAB facility.

“In addition to improving their health conditions, for those many families lacking a medical home or insurance, we will work to connect those families to a sustainable medical home and/or help with enrolling in the appropriate insurance program,” states Mark Robert, JRMC’s Chief Executive Officer.

About The Jewish Renaissance Medical Center

Established as one for the nation’s first ever faith-based, federally qualified health center (FQHC), the Jewish Renaissance Medical Center (established by the Jewish Renaissance Foundation) offers the full range of internal and family medicine, dental care, mental healthcare, and various areas of specialized treatment for over 34,000 impoverished children and families. In community and school-based health centers in Perth Amboy and Newark, JRMC offers the full lifespan of healthcare – from pediatric to geriatric care. JRMC has a growing team of over 200 professional and clinical staff.

About The Community Foundation of New Jersey – New Jersey Recovery Fund

The New Jersey Recovery Fund (NJRF) is a joint effort among local and national foundations, New Jersey corporations, and individuals to provide support to New Jersey’s communities and nonprofit organizations that are affected by or responding to Super Storm Sandy. NJRF seeks to address the intermediate and long-term impacts of this natural disaster, serving as a flexible source of financial support to local organizations and communities as they lead and participate in rebuilding and planning efforts throughout the state. NJRG is stewarded by the Community Foundation of New Jersey whose mission is to support charitable giving that is inspired by its donors, targeted at making communities stronger, driven by creative solutions, and effective in achieving lasting change. Through a combination of Legacy Funds and Donor Advised Funds, the foundation has granted an average of more than $30 million each year to charitable organizations and currently stewards over $270 million in charitable assets for current needs and future challenges.