Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka held a press conference Jan. 14, at the site of what will be the city’s first stand-alone health center dedicated to women.
The Mary Eliza Mahoney Women’s Health and Wellness Center is scheduled to open in July 2016 and will be located in Newark’s South Ward at 276-300 Clinton Ave.
The center will provide comprehensive primary medical care, ob-gyn services, a birthing center, access to lactation counselors and access to behavioral health and counseling, as well as serve as a WIC office.
The center is another step forward in the Model Neighborhood Initiative, which is a collaborative undertaking by multiple city departments and residents to transform neighborhoods into model communities of prosperity.
The site is across the street from the recently condemned Stratford Place apartments, which were a major blight on the neighborhood.
“In the Model Neighborhood Initiative, we are working with government agencies, the private sector, major stakeholders and most of all, the people and energy of our neighborhoods, to renew Newark and empower its residents,” said Baraka.
“This health center is an important step forward in the transformation of Clinton Hill,” added Deputy Mayor Baye Adolfo-Wilson, Newark’s Director of Economic & Housing Development.
Mary Eliza Mahoney Women’s Health and Wellness Center, a federally qualified health center is named after Mary Eliza Mahoney, the first African-American in the country to graduate from a licensed nursing school.
It will serve all people, regardless of ability to pay or immigration status. The center will offer convenient appointments in the evenings and weekends outside of the traditional working hours. The center will also be the focal point for educating women on wellness programs and health-related issues, equipping them to be proactive in managing their health and making wise medical choices.
“A woman’s health, and consequently the health of the women, men, girls and boys with whom she connects, has a direct impact on the development of our society,” said Dr. Hanaa A. Hamdi, Newark’s Director of Health and Community Wellness. “A woman’s health and ill-health can affect her ability to serve as an effective caregiver and nurturer.”
The establishment of a women’s health center in Newark is significant, as it recognizes that medical conditions affect women and men differently, thereby requiring different medical treatments.
Another health center is also slated for Newark at 30-30A North Munn Ave. This center will become part of the growing health services system, with medical facilities currently located at 394 University Ave. and 110 William St., and a divergent clinic and a mobile van located at 140 Bergen St.
The Mary Eliza Mahoney Health Center System brings comprehensive primary and preventive health services directly to many who now have limited access to health care and social services