Alliance for a Healthier New Brunswick
What We Do
The Alliance for a Healthier New Brunswick, convened by Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, is a collective effort designed to strengthen existing health services and systems and to develop new community health strategies supporting the Healthier New Brunswick initiative. Our objectives include:
- Strengthening community health partnerships in the City of New Brunswick by engaging leadership from the community and from health organizations while ensuring community ownership.
- Providing a forum for discussion of the health needs of New Brunswick residents and assessing the availability of resources such as funding, education, training and services.
- Mobilizing community health partners to address the identified health needs of New Brunswick residents.
The Alliance hosts and partners with coalitions and workgroups that focus on issues of import to our membership. Our steering committee consists of representatives from participating community stakeholder organizations who meet quarterly and provide input into and oversight of Alliance activities.
Who We Are
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The alliance is co-facilitated by Eric Jahn, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Community Health and Maria B. Pellerano, MA, MBA, MPH, Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Approximately 40 partners in the New Brunswick area and statewide work collaboratively with the co-facilitators on programming that benefits the New Brunswick community.
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- American Red Cross, Central New Jersey
- Center for Environmental Exposures and Disease, Rutgers University, Community Engagement Core
- Central Jersey Family Health Consortium
- City of New Brunswick
- City of New Brunswick, Human and Community Services
- City of New Brunswick, Recreation
- City of New Brunswick, Youth Services System
- Civic League of Greater New Brunswick
- Coming Home of Middlesex County
- Community Affairs and Resource Center of New Jersey
- Community Food Bank of New Jersey
- Cooperative Extension, Department of Family and Community Health Sciences, Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station
- Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
- Department of Pediatrics, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
- Elijah’s Promise
- Eric B. Chandler Health Center, Rutgers University
- Esperanza Neighborhood Project, New Brunswick Tomorrow
- Girls on the Run Central New Jersey
- Healthier Middlesex
- Homeless and Indigent Population Health Outreach Project, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
- Johnson & Johnson
- Middlesex County Office of Aging and Disabled Services
- Middlesex County Office of Health Services
- NAACP New Brunswick Branch
- NAMI NJ
- New Brunswick Community Farmers Market
- New Brunswick Domestic Violence Awareness Coalition
- New Brunswick Public School Family and Community Engagement
- New Brunswick Tomorrow
- New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids
- PRAB
- Raritan Valley YMCA
- Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Community Health Promotions RWJBarnabas
- Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Community Outreach and Engagement
- Rutgers Global Health Institute
- Rutgers University Behavioral Healthcare
- Saint Peter’s University Hospital Mobile Health Services
- Tobacco Dependence Program, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
- Wellspring Center for Prevention
- YRM Consulting Group
Join the Alliance
The Alliance partners with a number of academic, community-based, faith-based, and health organizations. If you are interested in learning more about our work or collaborating with the Alliance for a Healthier New Brunswick, please contact Maria Pellerano.
Current Projects
For the past, 15 years the Alliance has worked collaboratively with its partners to create programming, conduct community partnered research, produce reports, and create tools and resources needed in the community. These are some examples of the work that the Alliance co-facilitators and partners have completed together.
Social Prescribing Project
Currently, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School faculty, staff, and learners with community partners (social prescribing team) are co-developing a social prescribing program for New Brunswick that encourages residents to spend time outdoors to help reduce stress and improve overall physical and mental well-being.
Working from the Proposal to the Alliance for a Healthier New Brunswick for an Urban Nature-Based Social Prescribing Program for the Greater New Brunswick Area, the social prescribing team is developing a social marketing campaign to provide awareness about the importance of spending time in green space for physical and mental health.
Shared Measurement Project
Fundamental to Healthier New Brunswick’s collective impact approach is the development of a shared measurement system. The goals of this shared measurement system are to:
- Provide focus and help ensure alignment of HNB’s efforts
- Collect data longitudinally and measure progress towards HNB goals
- Help increase the capacity of New Brunswick to address and achieve health outcomes
Since 2013, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has facilitated the development of a sustainable shared data model for Healthier New Brunswick. In order to inform the development of the shared data set, our faculty published Measurement to Promote a Healthier New Brunswick: Survey of New Brunswick, N.J. Data, which evaluated health-related studies conducted in New Brunswick and recommended health indicators for a shared measurement system for New Brunswick.
Starting in 2015, the medical school, with the assistance of the TCC Group, led a lengthy community-engaged process to create the shared data set. This 15-indicator set includes five indicators for each of three community-determined priority health issues:
- Access to care
- Nutrition
- Mental health
In 2017, data collection was completed for the first set of data and RWJMS faculty with community partners published the white paper, New Brunswick’s Shared Data Measurement Project: Report on Fifteen Indicators.
Workgroups and Coalitions
Healthier New Brunswick's coalition-building effort seeks to emphasize systemic change to promote health and wellness for the residents of New Brunswick. Coalition and workgroup activities focus on:
- Strengthening community health partnerships.
- Providing a forum for discussion of health needs and resources.
- Mobilizing community health partners to address identified health needs.
The Alliance currently has two active workgroups and partners closely with an independent coalition. To learn more about any of our coalitions and workgroups, please contact Maria Pellerano.
Active Living Workgroup
Working with community partners to promote active living and physical activity, through education and community action to address obesity.
Achievements include:
- In collaboration with a Rutgers School of Public Health student, the workgroup completed a pilot study of how residents use public parks in New Brunswick. This resulted in the publication of the Alliance for a Healthier New Brunswick: The Park System of New Brunswick, New Jersey, September 2017.
- In collaboration with the Raritan Valley YMCA and the New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids–New Brunswick, the workgroup completed a pilot study on New Brunswick early childcare centers ability to implement national healthy eating and physical activity (HEPA) guidelines. This resulted in the report, Engaging Early Childcare Centers in New Brunswick in HEPA Guidelines.
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Workgroup
Engages community partners to address the lack of access to mental health services by focusing on education and prevention and developing resources to assist community service providers with information and knowledge to provide early intervention.
Achievements include:
- Developed and published the Behavioral Health Referral and Resource Guide: Greater New Brunswick and Middlesex County, updated in 2019. This publication was created by a community-engaged process led by Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Healthier Middlesex (a partnership of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Saint Peter’s University Hospital).
Our Publications
Each year, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School faculty and staff produce or contribute to publications benefiting the Greater New Brunswick community.
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Proposal to the Alliance for a Healthier New Brunswick for an Urban Nature-Based Social Prescribing Program for the Greater New Brunswick Area, 2023 – This report describes nature’s role in good physical and mental well-being, explains social prescribing, and outlines the facilitators within New Brunswick that could enhance a nature-based social prescribing program.
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- Measurement to Promote a Healthier New Brunswick: Survey of New Brunswick, N.J. Data, 2014 – This report, co-authored by medical school faculty, evaluates health-related studies conducted in New Brunswick and recommends health indicators for a shared measurement system for New Brunswick. Explore the complete data set for this report in the appendices.
- Healthier New Brunswick – An Overview of the Shared Measurement Development Process, 2016 – This report, written by TCC Group staff and medical school faculty, provides an overview of the community-engaged process that resulted in the creation of New Brunswick’s shared data measurement set.
- New Brunswick’s Shared Data Measurement Project: Report on Fifteen Indicators, 2018 – This white paper, written by medical school faculty with community partners, provides a look at the first set of data collected for New Brunswick’s shared data measurement set.
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The following reports were created in partnership with community stakeholders participating in the Alliance for a Healthier New Brunswick’s workgroups and coalitions.
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Behavioral Health Referral and Resource Guide: Greater New Brunswick and Middlesex County, 2019 – This publication was created by a community-engaged process led by Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Healthier Middlesex (a partnership of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Saint Peter’s University Hospital). Explore companion indices.
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Alliance for a Healthier New Brunswick: The Park System of New Brunswick, New Jersey, 2017 – This report describes a pilot study designed to understand how residents use public parks in New Brunswick. The study was conducted by a Rutgers School of Public Health graduate student under the direction of medical school faculty.
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Engaging Early Childcare Centers in New Brunswick in HEPA Guidelines, 2015 – This report, describes a pilot study which sought to understand the ability of New Brunswick early childcare centers to implement national healthy eating and physical activity (HEPA) guidelines. The report was written by medical school faculty in partnership with staff from New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids–New Brunswick and the Raritan Valley YMCA.
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- The Greater New Brunswick Hotspotting Report, 2017 – This report, written by medical school faculty with input from the Greater New Brunswick Hotspotting team, describes patterns of utilization of New Brunswick and Somerset Medicaid adult patients at New Brunswick’s two hospitals: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Saint Peter’s University Hospital.
- A Community Health Needs Assessment for Saint Peter's University Hospital and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, 2012 – Medical school faculty contributed to this community health needs assessment by conducting and reporting on the qualitative interviews and focus groups.
Behavioral Health Referral and Resource Guide
Discover Behavioral Health Resources
This guide is designed to assist community-based and faith-based organizations as they help their clients and parishioners with behavioral health resources. This guide provides the community with basic information about behavioral health issues. In addition, it contains a comprehensive list of resources offering support and services for behavioral health and substance abuse issues.
Behavioral Health Mini Guides
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These guides were compiled from resources found in the larger Behavioral Health Referral and Resource Guide: Greater New Brunswick and Middlesex County.
Miniguides were edited by Maria Pellerano and Robert LaForgia with assistance from Alisa Fatima, Yuneldys Garces, and community partners* involved in the Behavioral Health Workgroup.
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- Complete Set
- Addiction and Substance Abuse Resource Guide
- Adverse Childhood Experiences
- Alcohol Use and Abuse Resource Guide
- LGBTQIA and Gender Identification Guide
- Stress and Anxiety During Challenging Times
- Suicide Prevention Resource Guide
- Teen Depression Guide for Adolescents, Families, and Friends
- Youth Behavioral Health Resource Guide
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- Guías rápidas de salud del comportamiento del condado
- Guía de recursos para la adicción y el abuso de sustancias
- Experiencias adversas en la infancia
- Guía de recursos sobre el consumo y abuso de alcohol
- Guía de LGBTQIA e identificación de género
- Estrés y ansiedad en momentos difíciles
- Guía de recursos para la prevención del suicidio
- Guía sobre depresión adolescente para adolescentes, familias y amigos
- Guía de recursos para la salud del comportamiento de jovenes
*Community partners participating in the Behavioral Health Workgroup include: Coming Home of Middlesex County, City of New Brunswick, Elijah’s Promise, Middlesex County’s Office of Health Services, Mount Zion AME Church New Brunswick, NAMI-NJ, New Brunswick Domestic Violence Awareness Coalition, New Brunswick Tomorrow, PRAB, Eric B. Chandler Health Center, Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, Unity Square Neighborhood Revitalization Project, Wellspring Center for Prevention, and YRM Consulting.
Please contact us for edits to the guides or more information.