Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, has received a five-year, $5 million grant to implement the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) program, starting in the Brick City. 

The medical center was one of 41 organizations nationwide – and the only one in the Garden State – to receive the funding. 

The REACH grant will help Newark Beth Israel improve health outcomes, prevent chronic diseases and reduce health disparities among Black, African American, Hispanic and Latinx communities, who experience the highest rates of chronic disease in Newark, the medical center said in an Oct. 25 announcement. 

Newark Beth Israel also said the program will be rolled out Essex, Union, Hudson, Middlesex and Ocean counties over the next five years. 

Darrell Terry Sr., president and CEO of Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of New Jersey, said the funding will expand upon the center’s efforts to improve access to health care and outcomes.

“The REACH Program will greatly enhance our efforts and allow us to continue to address health care disparities in a meaningful way,” Terry added in a statement. 

Coordinating with state and local organizations, Newark Beth Israel will focus on improving residents’ nutrition with initiatives such as expanding fruit and vegetable voucher incentive programs at The Beth Greenhouse and its Women’s Wellness Pantry; producing medically tailored meal programs for those living with chronic health conditions; and expanding its KidsFit Nutrition education program to more schools around the state.

“With this funding, organizations will plan and carry out local, culturally-appropriate programs to address a wide range of health issues among racial and ethnic minority groups where health gaps remain,” said Terry O’Toole, program development and evaluation branch chief in CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity. “REACH intends to improve health where people live, learn, work, and play.” 

Another Garden State provider, Hackensack Meridian Health, also recently unveiled a nutrition program for families in the region: Fresh Match, made possible by a $3 million state grant.