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Contact: Jennifer Forbes
UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
732-235-6356 or jenn.forbes@umdnj.edu
Physician and Advocate for the Underserved in New Brunswick Joins
Eric B. Chandler Health Center as Medical Director
New Brunswick, NJ – Steven J. Levin, MD, a UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School associate professor of family medicine, who has promoted health care equality and inspired a generation of medical students to serve those most in need, has been named medical director of the Eric B. Chandler Health Center. An advocate for providing access to quality healthcare, Dr. Levin brings extensive experience in primary care services, medical education and management of an urban health center.
Dr. Levin has provided primary care services to the underserved of the city as the sole physician at St. John’s Health Center for more than 20 years. His focus has been in the treatment of HIV, healthcare disparities, community oriented primary care, and multiculturalism. During his tenure at St. John’s Health Center, Dr. Levin helped create a state-funded sexually transmitted diseases clinic, a home safety program for inner-city children, a Latino diabetes support group, and a computer database to track indigent patients in need of immunizations and other follow-up services.
“Dr. Levin is an exceptional family physician, who is well known throughout New Brunswick for breaking down barriers so underserved patients may access quality healthcare,” said Peter S. Amenta, MD, PhD, dean of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. “As a leader in culturally-competent care, he serves as a role model for our students. It is a pleasure to welcome him to the Eric B. Chandler Health Center.”
“I had built strong relationships with my patients at St. John’s. However, joining Chandler allows me the opportunity to serve a larger population that faces similar obstacles to obtaining quality health services,” said Dr. Levin. “My goal at Chandler is to provide all patients with the same premium health services that would be available to them in a private practice.”
One of Dr. Levin’s first endeavors is to emphasize Chandler as a medical home for its patients – the place where they can receive the quality care they need, when they need it and with continuity. To this end, Dr. Levin plans to implement walk-in pediatric sick visits from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. for current patients. “Making ourselves available first thing in the morning allows children to obtain treatment sooner and meets the needs of parents who must arrange for daycare or coverage at work.” According to Dr. Levin, the early-morning visits also benefit scheduling at the Center, easing the need to fit patients in and allowing the Center to see scheduled patients promptly.
On faculty at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School since 1989, Dr. Levin has served as a mentor and inspiration for medical students. While at St. John’s Health Center, he taught residents and students interested in family medicine and consistently mentored third-year medical students during their family medicine clerkship.
Dr. Levin’s leadership as an educator and community health advocate inspired a group of students to form the Homeless and Indigent Population Health Outreach Project (HIPHOP) in 1992. Initiated to provide community outreach, health promotion, preventive education and clinical services to underserved populations, HIPHOP has become a leading medical training organization with three student-run initiatives: the Community Health Initiative, which promotes healthy living practices, provides preventive health education including diabetes and blood pressure screenings, and supports underserved and indigent populations; Motivating Ourselves Via Exercise and Nutrition (MOVEN) Project, in which medical students work with mothers and children to promote healthier eating habits and exercise; and the Promise Clinic, which, in partnership with Elijah's Promise Soup Kitchen in New Brunswick, provides access to primary care for an underserved, mostly homeless population. Dr. Levin was instrumental in guiding students in the creation of the Promise Clinic in 2004 and continues to work with the group.
Dr. Levin is the recipient of numerous accolades, most recently being named the 2007 Family Physician of the Year by the American Academy of Family Physicians and the New Jersey Family Physician of the Year in 2005 by the New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians. He also earned the Humanism in Medicine Award from the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey in 2000. He earned his undergraduate degree from Brown University and was granted a medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Levin completed his residency in family medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina.
The Eric B. Chandler Health Center is a federally qualified and funded health center offering comprehensive, family-oriented primary, preventive and acute care services. It is committed to providing patients with services appropriate to each stage of life in a comprehensive, coordinated and continuous manner. Operated jointly with the Eric B. Chandler Community Board, the Chandler Health Center provides access to quality healthcare for an underserved population regardless of the ability to pay, doing approximately 60,000 patient encounters annually. Chandler also hosts or participates in health screenings and seminars, both at the Center and within the Greater New Brunswick community.
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A high-resolution photo of Dr. Levin is available by request. Please contact Jennifer Forbes at jenn.forbes@umdnj.edu or 732-235-6356.
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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