In Farm’s Way: Garden Gives Burlington City Students a Taste of Healthy, Helpful Harvest


By: Todd McHale Burlington County Times, Staff Writer BURLINGTON CITY — After weeks of nurturing crops, the city’s high school students joined state and local dignitaries to celebrate the first harvest of the South Jersey Family Medical Center’s community/learning garden. Following a dedication ceremony, a dozen students showed off the bounty grown in the back of the center on High Street, and then got to work cultivating, with the help of guests. The garden is part of the center’s new “Farmacy Program,” designed to educate students about nutrition and the farm-to-table system, as well as supply produce to the community. “I’m really excited about it,” said Linda Flake, CEO of the medical center. “What it means is that we’re a place that the community is comfortable with working with us and we’re comfortable with our community.” The program, which combines food justice, youth-driven social entrepreneurship and civic leadership, is one of many that the center offers to encourage a healthy lifestyle. The center teamed with the high school to put on the program to give students a better understanding of where their food comes from, to discover the importance of adding fresh vegetables to their diet, and to learn about the science and economics behind the food industry. Junior Kaseem Edwards said he jumped at the chance to participate. “It’s been a fun experience, not only to be hands-on in the garden, but get along with people that I hadn’t known and make new friends,” Kaseem said. He was surprised to see how well the parsley, spinach, broccoli, lettuce and other vegetables grew. Ninth-graders Ansley Morrison and Alexis Goodman enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about gardening and help out the community at the same time. “We’re always running around somewhere, and this is a good experience to slow down and garden and relax a bit,” Alexis said. Senior Breyonna Edwards liked the idea of helping people get healthy food and learning different techniques for growing vegetables, no matter the season. The Horizon Foundation provided a grant to support the program. Chef Harold Villarosa, of the Insurgo Project in New York City, set up the curriculum and taught the students about gardening over the last few weeks. Founded in Uptown Manhattan to address local food insecurity, Insurgo is a community collective committed to nurturing the farm-to-table movement in low-income neighborhoods nationwide. In December, Villarosa will return to join with the students to cook a lunch that will include some of the vegetables grown in the garden. Click here for original article

SJFMC Wins Runner-up Award in NACHC’s 2017 NHCW Picture Contest


Southern Jersey Family Medical Centers was one of 12 winners in this year’s NACHC picture contest. The annual showcase honors the best of Community Health Centers across the United States. The Picture Contest Grand Prize Winner received a $500 NACHC sponsorship for National Health Center Week 2018, a canvas print-out of their submission, a copy of the 2018 Health Centers Calendar with their picture featured on the cover and a 2017 NHCW t-shirt. The 11 picture runners-up will receive a canvas print-out of their submission and a copy of the 2018 Health Centers Calendar with the picture featured in one month of the calendar.

Why We #ValueSJFMC!


Listen to patients and medical staff explain why they value SJFMC.

Honor SJFMC’s 40th Birthday During NHCW


Join us as we celebrate 40 Years of Commitment, Compassion and Care during National Health Center Week, August 13th to the 19th . (Click the slide show for a list of events)

Senator Cory Booker Visits SJFMC


Senator Cory Booker tours SJFMC’s Burlington City Center and holds round table discussion with patients. After hearing their emotional stories,  Senator Booker promised to preserve their right to quality and affordable healthcare.

SJFMC launches Farmacy Program and Community Garden


The first “Farmacy,” a learning garden at our Burlington City Health Center, launched in August 2017. In collaboration with the Insurgo Project and Burlington City High School, the garden program fuses food justice, social entrepreneurialism and civic leadership under an educational philosophy that highlights SJFMC’s deep history and agricultural roots. SJFMC’s Farmacy program aims at decreasing the rates of chronic disease and promotes healthy lifestyles through nutritious eating. By becoming a part of this exciting movement, students and patients gain a stronger connection to the source of their food, ultimately leading to a healthier and more environmentally conscious lifestyle. They will also understand the science and economics behind the food industry, thus cracking the door to a wealth of innovative and socially oriented careers. SJFMC is planting seeds and nurturing growth so that students of all ages and backgrounds learn the science behind the origins of food and reestablish the relationship between planet and plate. Our program reduces food insecurity and improves dietary intake, which leads to healthier ways of life, ultimately combatting the prevalence of preventable chronic diseases. The program has already been awarded a coveted Garden Grant from the Horizon Foundation for New Jersey and has been visited by various congressional leaders, state representatives and local elected officials. In partnership with the Burlington City School District and the Insurgo Project, we are thankful for the community contributions that have been made thus far. We welcome you to donate to our Farmacy program and help sprout the future. For more information on the Farmacy Program, call 609-481-3075.

Southern Jersey Family Medical Centers Dedicates Pleasantville Health Center to Longtime Physician Nancy Merle, MD


Image Caption: Assemblyman Vincent Mazzeo, D-Atlantic, left, Linda Y. Flake, President/CEO, SJFMC, and Assemblyman Chris Brown, R-Atlantic, stand united at the Merle Pavilion Naming Dedication in Pleasantville.
SJFMC honored longtime public servant for patients, Dr. Nancy Merle, MD with a dedication ceremony during National Health Center Week 2017. Political parties united while vowing to protect Americans in search of quality health care as our Pleasantville Health Center officially became the Merle Pavilion. Assemblyman Vincent Mazzeo (D) said, “SJFMC saves lives and our community would be in bad shape without your help. I am just doing my job fighting for what is right in Trenton but Dr. Merle, I love your fire power and I thank you for your commitment to this organization.” Assembly Chris Brown (R) said, “There shouldn’t be barriers to health care, shouldn’t be barriers to get the basic needs we all deserve and require. With this Pavilion, and Dr. Merle’s name on it, I know that your continued mission of breaking down barriers will be a success.” SJFMC Board Members were also honored and presented with plaques and certificates during the service. The night ended with a huge Health Fair Block Party outside of our Pleasantville Health Center. Hundreds of people attended and enjoyed free food, health screenings, dancing and giveaways.

Southern Jersey Family Medical Centers Celebrates National Health Center Week 2017


Southern Jersey Family Medical Centers (SJFMC) offered free medical and dental screenings for the community in celebration of 40 years of providing compassion, care and commitment to South Jersey families. SJFMC’s events were planned as a part of National Health Center Week (NHCW).

The national campaign ran August 13-19 with the goal of raising awareness about the mission and accomplishments of America’s Health Centers over the course of more than five decades. While there are countless reasons to celebrate America’s Health Centers, among the most important and unique is their long success in providing access to affordable, high-quality, cost-effective health care to medically vulnerable and underserved people throughout the United States.

Collectively, Community Health Centers serve more than 25 million Americans, a number that continues to grow along with the demand for affordable primary care. We have compiled a significant record of success that includes:

Health Centers not only prevent illness and foster wellness in the most challenging populations, they produce innovative solutions to the most pressing health care issues in their communities. They reach beyond the walls of conventional medicine to address the factors that may cause sickness, such as lack of nutrition, mental illness, homelessness and opioid addiction. Because of their long record of success in innovation, managing health care costs and reducing chronic disease, Health Centers have a proud tradition of bipartisan support in Congress.

Here is a list of SJFMC National Health Center Week Events:

Monday, August 14: Health Screening Day, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Tuesday, August 15: Homeless Help Day, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Thursday, August 17: Farmworker Day, 7 to 9 p.m.

Friday, August 18: Merle Pavilion Naming Dedication/Ribbon Cutting, 3 – 4 p.m.

U.S. Sen. Booker Visits SJFMC and Tells County Patients Health Care Fight Isn’t Over


By: David Levinsky Burlington County Times, Staff Writer BURLINGTON CITY — The sudden defeat of the Republicans’ health care overhaul in the U.S. Senate won’t bring back Josef Pfeiffer’s father, who died after losing his job and his health insurance in 2003. “He had a choice between paying the mortgage or for COBRA. He paid the mortgage, and then his cancer came back,” Pfeiffer said Saturday. “With the Affordable Care Act’s expanded Medicaid, we would have been covered.” Pfeiffer shared his family’s story during a roundtable talk about health care with U.S. Sen. Cory Booker and New Jersey legislators Troy Singleton, D-7th of Palmyra, and Herb Conaway, D-7th of Delran, at the Southern Jersey Family Medical Centers on High Street, one of several federally qualified health centers in New Jersey that receive funding from the ACA. While the 2010 law came too late for his father, Pfeiffer, who is a patient at the Burlington City clinic, said he takes comfort knowing that its insurance coverage standards and expansion of Medicaid to allow more lower-income adults to obtain coverage will endure for the foreseeable future. “To go back from that? I think it’s really narrow-sighted to cut the essential services that people rely on,” he said. The GOP’s seven-year quest to repeal former President Barack Obama’s health care law imploded last week after senators failed to pass any of the three versions of legislation the chamber debated to dismantle it. The final blow came early Friday, when the Senate voted 51-49 to reject the so-called “skinny repeal” bill authored by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that would have kept most of the ACA in place but eliminate its unpopular tax penalties on people who don’t obtain insurance coverage or employers who don’t offer coverage for workers. The bill was never intended to become law, but was written with the hope that Republicans would be able to advance it from the Senate to begin talks with the House on a possible compromise, final bill. No Democrats voted in support of the “skinny repeal,” which was defeated after Republican Sens. Susan Collins, of Maine; Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska; and Arizona’s John McCain joined in the dissent. At the roundtable Saturday, Booker and other participants cheered the legislation’s defeat, describing it as a major setback for President Donald Trump’s agenda and a crucial victory for Americans who have received medical care coverage thanks to the ACA’s reforms. ″(Trump) said on day one he was going to repeal ‘Obamacare.’ You see how that was such an outrageous proposition that even Republicans began to evolve,” Booker said. “I’m very glad we were able to stop it with three Republican senators stepping over and saying, ‘No, we’re not going to do that; it’s the wrong thing to do.’” The senator warned that the fight is not over, a point Trump reinforced on Twitter on Saturday afternoon. He wrote, “Unless the Republican Senators are total quitters, Repeal & Replace is not dead! Demand another vote before voting on any other bill!” “We still face a lot of challenges. One with Donald Trump trying to kill the Affordable Care Act by denying some of the basic aspects of the plan, whether it’s enforcing the individual mandate, cost-sharing resources or even stopping to advertise enrollment. We still have a lot of work to do,” Booker said, adding that he is hopeful a bipartisan solution to some of the law’s problems can be found. “I see hope. This was a very good sign this week, and I hope it results in Democrats and Republicans crossing the aisle, sitting down and saying, ‘Hey, let’s preserve all these gains we’ve made, and let’s now address the things that are frustrating folks with the Affordable Care Act.’ That’s where I really hope we get back to.” Rep. Donald Norcross, D-1st of Camden, also called for bipartisan cooperation to improve the law. “Very relieved millions of Americans are waking up knowing they’ll still have health care. But now ALL of us must work together to improve the ACA,” Norcross tweeted Friday after the repeal legislation’s defeat. Among the problems occurring in different regions are rapidly rising premiums and insurers fleeing some marketplaces. There are also still millions of Americans who are not insured through workplace or individual market plans or Medicaid. Those issues won’t fix themselves, Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-3rd of Toms River, said Friday afternoon, expressing frustration and disappointment with the Senate’s failure to advance the legislation, something the House narrowly accomplished in May in large part because of MacArthur’s work to negotiate a compromise acceptable to conservative members. “I’m disappointed. I think the Senate missed a real opportunity here, and I don’t know if we can recover from it,” he said, adding that he would still work to address health care problems. “Premiums are still rising, insurers are dropping out, and there’s still 28 million uninsured Americans. We owe it to them to fix that,” he said. “I’ll work with anybody to fix this.” To try to rein in costs and expenses, MacArthur said Congress might try to pursue tort reform or encourage changes to the traditional “fees for service” model of health care, which reimburses hospitals and doctors for the individual tests and procedures they perform rather than the quality and overall outcomes of the care they provide. MacArthur also said Congress might still try to make changes to bring down the costs of prescription drugs. The former insurance executive predicted that special interests would fight those changes, and that bringing down overall costs would be harder with the Affordable Care Act still in place. “I’m going to continue to work with anyone I can to fix real, systemic problems. But it’s going to be hard because the Senate accepted the framework of Obamacare,” MacArthur said. “They decided to accept what the Democrats did alone (in 2010), so it’s going to be harder to get at health care costs.” Booker cited the story of Pfeiffer’s father and other patients at the clinic who said they struggled without insurance as further proof of the law’s benefits. “Listening to the voices of New Jersey today — literally a young man saying his father died before the Affordable Care Act because he couldn’t get the kind of preventative care and support he needed for his cancer — that cannot ever come back to the United States of America,” he said. “So I want to improve the Affordable Care Act, not destroy it. I want to preserve the gains we’ve made and add to them, not turn the clock backwards.” Link to article: http://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/2c26b3e4-7494-11e7-be8e-fff42d2b2c17.html

Sen. Robert Menendez Discusses Affordable Care Act Repeal at Burlington City Health Center


By: David Levinsky, Burlington County Times, Staff Writer BURLINGTON CITY — Samantha Williams says her son nearly died four years ago because she hesitated taking him to the hospital for an asthma attack. Williams, of Burlington, said she was unemployed at the time, had no health insurance, and was worried about how she would pay for the hospital bill. Eventually she decided she had no choice. “The doctor told me if I had waited five more minutes, my son, Zachary, would not have made it,” Williams said Thursday at the Southern Jersey Family Medical Center on High Street, where her son now receives regular primary care, thanks in part to the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid, the state-run health insurance for the poor and disabled. But she’s concerned that she and her son might become one of the 24 million Americans expected to lose their health coverage if the Republican Congress’ proposed Affordable Care Act repeal and replace plan becomes law. “Without this expansion, I don’t know where he would be,” Williams said during a roundtable meeting with U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez at the clinic, one of several federally qualified health centers in New Jersey that receive funding from the ACA. “It meant he was able to get the treatment he needed. It meant he was able to get the medication he needed. And for me, it meant that my son is here today. I don’t know where we would be without it,” Williams said. Menendez, a Democrat, says stories like Williams’ show the importance of making sure health care is available for all Americans, regardless of their financial circumstances. Link to article: http://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/01ea0cd2-0a83-11e7-8786-173ff059daf0.html