(lr) Atiya Jah Rashidi, director of equity and VP of community relations, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center; Marci Felsenfeld, Senior Program Officer, Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey; Hector Varona, Senior Relationship Manager, M&T Bank; Craig Drinkard, CEO, Victoria Foundation; Leonard Robbins, Senior Program Officer – Lending, LISC; Nicole Fields, CEO, St. James Health; Dominic Lee, CEO, Brick Networks; Balpreet Grewal-Virk, SVP, Community Health, RWJBarnabas Health; Michael Bright, CEO, Newark YMCA; Atiyah Weiss, Executive Director, Burke Foundation; James Burke, Director, Burke Foundation; Kim Cook, director of social impact and community investment, New York Beth Israel Medical Center; Evan Weiss, Executive Director, New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA); Sharnita Johnson, VP, Strategy, Impact and Communications, Victoria Foundation. (Credit: RWJBarnabas Health)
health care
On March 19, 2026
RWJBarnabas Health joined with the BRICK Network, St. James Health Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and the YMCA of Newark and surrounding areas to build the South Ward Health Center in Newark. This public-private partnership is supported by a $3 million investment from RWJBarnabas Health as part of the system’s Our Healthy Communities initiative.
“At RWJBarnabas Health, our mission is to build and maintain a healthier New Jersey – and that commitment extends beyond the walls of our hospitals,” said Mark E. Manigan, president and CEO of RWJBarnabas Health. “Our investment in the South Ward Health Center, supported by funding from the State of New Jersey, reflects our commitment to expanding access to care, advancing prevention and addressing the root causes that affect health. This strong collaboration demonstrates how public investment and community partnerships can come together to create lasting impact.”
RWJBarnabas Health plans to place Community Health Workers (CHWs) and SNAP Navigators at the South Ward Health Center – expanding access to quality health care in New Jersey’s largest city.
Through our healthy communities, RWJBarnabas Health partners with local leaders, health care providers, civic organizations, clergy and community-based organizations to strengthen critical social and health care infrastructure and expand patient access to care, healthy food, nutrition education, transportation, economic mobility, and stable housing. Supported by community health resources from the state of New Jersey, RWJBarnabas Health has invested more than $151 million in community health initiatives beyond traditional medical care to create and sustain long-term health for residents and communities.
“At RWJBarnabas Health, wellness is what we’re all about,” said Balpreet Grewal-Werk, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Community Health, RWJBarnabas Health. “And when we talk about wellness, we mean more than care in hospitals. We mean prevention. We mean access. We mean meeting people where they are. So I can’t think of a better investment for us in a community that we work closely with here in Newark.”
The groundbreaking marks a turning point for community stakeholders and residents in the South Ward, who have long called for comprehensive care that allows the neighborhood to go beyond health to wellness. Through community meetings, surveys, and feedback gathered by the BRICK Network, residents named a need for access to health care, affordable healthy food, maternity care, and holistic support for children and families.
“This is more than a health center, it’s the physical embodiment of what our community demands and deserves,” said Dominic Lee, CEO of the Brick Network. “Our children and families guide our work. By listening to their voices, we increase access to health care and remove barriers that prevent people from living their dreams and building lasting prosperity.”
The new 50,000-square-foot building will include a community room for meetings and workshops, a full-service pharmacy, a maternal health department, a primary care suite, flexible space for nonprofit partners, and state-of-the-art classrooms for health and culinary education. The center’s design and services are rooted in ongoing community dialogue, starting with the temporary health site opened by the BRICK Network and St. James Health, which informs the comprehensive proposals now underway. The center will open in April 2027.
Community leaders and stakeholders see the center as a model for breaking the cycle of inequality. Nicole Fields, CEO of St. James Health commented, “For too long, families in the South Ward have had to navigate fragmented systems to access primary care. This center will bring together maternal health, pharmacy, primary care, and health education under one roof. Our partnership believes that access is a right, not a privilege.”
The wellness center is already fully funded at a cost of $48 million to build, with an additional $5 million needed to pay off the mortgage, bringing dreams of access to a debt-free, sustainable facility. In addition to RWJBarnabas Health, funding for the project was supported by the Victoria Foundation and through a federal appropriation from the late Congressman Donald M. Payne Jr.
To access more business news, visit NJB News now.
Related articles:
#RWJ #Barnabas #Associates #basic #work #South #Ward #Health #Center