Millions Invested in Newark's South Ward NJ Mortgage & Finance Agency Partners with RWJBarnabas Health
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n August 2018, the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA) made a groundbreaking announcement: it would partner with hospitals around the state to encourage them to provide affordable housing in their communities. The first of its kind in the U.S., the initiative provides financial incentives to nudge New Jersey’s health care systems to actively address some of the social determinants of health affecting their patients and neighbors. It’s a model that overwhelmingly seems to make sense to everyone involved—and that’s already garnering interest from state finance administrators around the country. About six New Jersey hospital systems have since moved forward with plans to build housing. One, St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson, is furthest along and is close to receiving formal approval from the agency; its 71-unit project is slated to be complete by mid-2021. On February 10, 2020 Mayor Ras Baraka was joined by NJ Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver and RJW Barnabas President and CEO Barry Ostrowsky for the announcement of a $30 million investment in Newark’s South Ward in the area surrounding the hospital’s Beth Israel Medical Center. The Hospital Partnership Subsidy Program recognizes housing as a key variable to maintain good health, and the role of hospitals as anchor institutions in the community. Under the program, NJ Mortgage & Finance Agency
New Jersey Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver City of Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka Photos courtesy of RWJBarnas Health
(NJHMFA) matches funding contributions from participating hospitals to provide rental apartments affordable for low- and moderate-income families, as well as apartments for special needs residents. Lt. Governor Oliver also serves as commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and is chair of the NJHMFA board. “This new collaboration with RWJBarnabas Health is going to create dozens of homes for our most vulnerable residents while building upon the redevelopment that is already happening in the South Ward,” she said. “As anchor institutions, health care systems like RWJBarnabas Health have a vital role to play in strengthening and growing healthier communities. The collaborations created under the Hospital Partnership Subsidy Program enable them to do that,” said NJHMFA Executive Director Charles A. Richman. “Two things came together,” he said. “Housing is health care. And hospitals are anchor institutions.” —TPC Staff
L–R: President and CEO, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center Darrell K. Terry, Sr.; Founder and chair of The Fidelco Group, Marc E. Berson; President and CEO RWJBarnabas Health, Barry H. Ostrowsky; Executive V.P. and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, RWJBarnabas Health Michellene Davis, Esq.; Regional V.P. NJ, Pennrose, Jacob Fisher; NJ Lt. Governor Sheila Y. Oliver; NJHMFA Executive Director Charles A. Richman; Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Assemblyman Ralph R. Caputo; and Vice Chair Board of Trustees NBIMC and ChoNJ, Frank J. Giantomasi
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March 2020 The Positive Community
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