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CONTACT: Dale R. Heffler
(908) 731-6605, dheffler@njhf.org
Jennifer Forbes
Communications & Public Affairs
732-235-6356, jenn.forbes@umdnj.edu
Foundation of UMDNJ Receives Up to $4 Million For Eric B. Chandler Health Center
New Brunswick, NJ — The Foundation of UMDNJ has received up to a $4 million commitment from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to establish an endowment and support the operations of the Eric B. Chandler Health Center.
The health center, owned and operated by UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in collaboration with the Eric B. Chandler Community Board Inc., will receive a $2 million grant from RWJF to support the operations of the Center, which provides a full-range of healthcare services to those in need, regardless of ability to pay. A second $2 million challenge grant will establish an endowment that will allow the center to continue to maintain the provision of those services in perpetuity. In order to receive this grant the Foundation of UMDNJ needs to raise $2 million in matching funds within the next four years.
“A critical priority for us will be to match the $2 million endowment in order to maintain the excellent services available to clients through Chandler,” explained Dr. George F. Heinrich, vice chair and CEO of the Foundation of UMDNJ. “In addition, the $2 million endowment portion of the gift from RWJF will be eligible for our own matching program whereby we add a 20 percent match to the endowment, which comes from board designated funds at New Jersey Health Foundation, our parent company.”
Patients served through Chandler Health Center are economically disadvantaged, with 72 percent reporting incomes of less than the federal poverty level and 92 percent with income levels of 200 percent or less of the federal poverty level. In calendar year 2009, 51 percent of clients at Chandler were uninsured, with another 41 percent of clients having Medicaid. The Center has a registered population of 56,000 patients. Approximately 13,100 of these individuals use the Center at least once a year.
“Like many other organizations providing care for those with a limited ability to pay, Chandler Health Center is experiencing financial challenges,” explained Dr. Eric Jahn, senior associate dean of community health at the medical school. “Receipt of these funds will allow the Health Center to meet all of its missions in a continued and robust fashion. “
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has been a strong supporter of the health center since its inception, providing more than $1.3 million to fund operations and provide medical care.
“Our medical school, like many others in the country, is encountering increased economic challenges,” explained Dr. Peter S. Amenta, dean of the medical school. “This incredibly generous gift, along with the matching funds we plan to raise through the Foundation of UMDNJ, helps to assure that people in New Brunswick and surrounding communities will continue to receive the care they need to both prevent and treat disease.”
“I am extremely appreciative that the RWJF has been so generous to the Eric B. Chandler Health Center,” reports Sandra Adams, executive director of the center. “This funding will allow us to continue our commitment of providing quality healthcare to so many individuals in need.”
To learn more about how to support the Eric B. Chandler Health Center contact Denise Gavala, vice president for development, at (908) 731-6595 or dgavala@njhf.org.
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The Foundation of UMDNJ
The Foundation of UMDNJ is an independent, not-for-profit organization that connects individuals, corporations and foundations that want to advance healthcare with those at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey who share those same passions. For more information, visit www.foundationofumdnj.org.
About UMDNJ-ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON MEDICAL SCHOOL
As one of the nation’s leading comprehensive medical schools, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in education, research, health care delivery, and the promotion of community health. In cooperation with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the medical school’s principal affiliate, they comprise New Jersey’s premier academic medical center. In addition, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has 34 other hospital affiliates and ambulatory care sites throughout the region.
As one of the eight schools of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey with 2,800 full-time and volunteer faculty, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School encompasses 22 basic science and clinical departments, hosts centers and institutes including The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the Child Health Institute of New Jersey, the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, and the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey. The medical school maintains educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels for more than 1,500 students on its campuses in New Brunswick, Piscataway, and Camden, and provides continuing education courses for health care professionals and community education programs. To learn more about UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, log on to rwjms.umdnj.edu. Find our fan page at http://www.Facebook.com/RWJMS and follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/UMDNJ_RWJMS.
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