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RWJBarnabas Health distributed a combined $1.5 million in grants to support local organizations working to better their communities. 

Announced May 20, the recipients are tackling barriers to care, food insecurity and economic stability among underserved communities in New Brunswick and Middlesex County. 

“Addressing health disparities requires more than clinical care; it demands meaningful investment in the communities we serve,” said Balpreet Grewal-Virk, senior vice president for community health, RWJBarnabas Health.  

The grants are funded through RWJBarnabas Health’s Our Healthy Communities initiative and supported by state appropriations. 

Grant recipients are: 

• Civic League of Greater New Brunswick – $450,000
• My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Middlesex County – $450,000 
• The Urban Health Collaborative – $450,000 
• Zakee Bowser Enrichment Foundation (ZBEF) – $150,000 

“RWJBarnabas Health continues to demonstrate what true community partnership looks like. These investments will directly support organizations that are doing extraordinary work every day to improve the lives of residents throughout New Brunswick and Middlesex County,” said New Brunswick Mayor Jim Cahill. 

Bill Arnold, CEO of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, added that the investments “reflect our commitment to work hand-in-hand with community partners to remove barriers, expand opportunity, and ensure residents have the support they need to thrive.” 

To date, RWJBarnabas Health has reinvested more than $151 million in community health initiatives beyond traditional medical care through the program. 

Other recent outreach has included:

• New Jersey’s first Street Medicine Program, launched in Elizabeth 
• A first-of-its-kind community center in Newark 
• A new pediatric mobile unit in Essex County