Earlier this month, the non-profit North Hudson Community Action Corporation (NHCAC) and the Union City Board of Education held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for NHCAC’s new pediatric health center located at Union City High School on Kennedy Blvd.
The facility is open to families in Hudson County with low incomes, and can see patients 18 and under. The NHCAC is a federally funded agency that provides community health services on a sliding scale.
The pediatric center is an expansion of operations at NHCAC’s Union City facility at 714 31st St. That location is still open and will continue to run other programs, just not a pediatric program. Now the old location will be able to increase capacity for women’s health and internal medicine.
“We want to have the kids involved in these things so they can better manager their health.” – Christopher Irizarry
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“Things are going very well,” said NHCAC President Christopher Irizarry last week. “We’re seeing approximately 20 to 25 people a day.”
Irizarry said that he ultimately hopes to increase capacity at the state-of-the-art center to double the amount to 50 patients per day.
NHCAC is the largest federally qualified provider of health care in New Jersey, with 10 centers serving three northern New Jersey counties. Last year, NHCAC’s health centers handled more than 220,000 patient visits.
School as a center for community
The new pediatric center, staffed by Dr. Hutton-Cassie and a host of nurses and other health care professionals, contains 2,286 square feet of space and includes four private examination rooms and an on-site laboratory.
Irizarry said it was important to open the center while the kids were out of school to monitor the flow and determine how to make it work once school is back in session.
His organization will be meeting with the Board of Education next week to discuss how students will utilize the center, what waivers might be needed, and what type of treatment will be available for them.
Irizarry said the short-term goal for the center is to decrease the absentee rate among students due to health related causes.
The mid-range goal is to teach the kids how to manage their health better, with initiatives in asthma, diabetes, and obesity – areas of particular concern to the Latino community.
“We want to have the kids involved in these things so they can better manage their health,” said Irizarry.
For the long-term, he said the goal is to bring hands-on opportunities to learn about careers in the health field to kids.
The Board of Education has made efforts to make the new high school more of a community center for Union City, including things like a theater and stadium which can be used for various local events.
“[The health center] is one prime example of that,” said Irizarry.
Going electronic
As of July 26, the center at the high school will be the third NHCAC health center to implement electronic health records.
The organization is currently in the process of rolling out electronic records at all of their locations. The Hoboken and North Bergen centers were already switched over to the new system earlier this month.
“It’s completely changing the culture of how we see our patients,” Irizarry said. “It’s going to enhance our ability to see patients quicker and allow patients to see doctors at any of the health centers.”
Additionally, the electronic system will allow for easier prescription filling at pharmacies and quicker lab results.
Eventually, Irizarry said, there are plans for the NHCAC website to allow patients to schedule appointments online.
Lana Rose Diaz can be reached at ldiaz@hudsonreporter.com.