Projects serving Hunterdon, Sussex and Warren counties will expand hospital capacity, mobile care, mental-health services, cancer screening, telehealth and chronic-disease treatment.
NORTHWEST NEW JERSEY – Hospitals, county agencies, first-aid squads and community health organizations serving Northwest New Jersey received funding in the state’s first round of Rural Health Transformation Program grants, announced July 31.
The state awarded $83 million across 103 projects. New Jersey received more than $147 million from the federal government for the first year of what is expected to be a five-year initiative, although funding levels for the remaining four years have not been finalized.
Among the largest Northwest Jersey awards is $1.46 million for Hackettstown Medical Center. The Atlantic Health System hospital plans to expand capacity for uninsured and underinsured patients.
Hunterdon Medical Center received $1,088,184 to improve transitions from hospital care to community services and introduce a virtual-care platform across hospital and follow-up settings.
Other locally directed awards include:
- $657,452 for technology improvements at St. Luke’s Warren Hospital
- $401,359 for Hunterdon County mobile preventive care, cancer screening, vision care, mental-health services and transportation support
- $281,939 for the Allamuchy-Green First Aid Squad to modernize patient-transport capabilities
- $208,537 for Bridgeway Behavioral Health Services to address serious mental illness and related metabolic conditions in Sussex County
- $206,539 for Sussex County screening kiosks and mobile health clinics
- $196,796 for the Center for Prevention and Counseling to expand preventive services in Sussex County
- $329,734 for Crossroads4Hope cancer education, screening assistance and patient-support referrals in Hunterdon, Sussex and Warren counties
Zufall Health Center received two awards affecting the region: $600,162 for mobile, telehealth and community-based primary care, and $154,135 for hypertension and diabetes prevention and treatment.
NORWESCAP received $52,236 for digital screening kiosks and resource navigation in Hunterdon, Sussex and Warren counties, plus $106,258 for community health workers serving Warren and Hunterdon residents.
Some awards serve Northwest Jersey as part of larger, multi-county programs. The Child Mind Institute, for example, received $504,429 for mental-health workshops in Mercer, Monmouth, Sussex and Warren counties. Hackensack Meridian Health received $750,000 for six full-time doulas serving high-risk postpartum patients across nine counties, including Sussex.
Because several projects span multiple regions, the state’s allocation document does not support a reliable county-by-county total. The awards nevertheless direct millions of dollars toward providers and programs serving Hunterdon, Sussex and Warren counties.
The grants target recurring rural-health problems identified by the state, including hospital workforce shortages, maternity-service closures, limited access to specialists, substance-use disorders and lower rates of preventive pediatric care.
The Department of Human Services is leading the program, while the Department of Health is administering approximately $95 million in competitive funding. Future funding announcements will be posted through the state’s Rural Health Transformation Program.