New Public Health Clinic Opens Inside Newark Elementary School

NEWARK, NJ — A new health center is open in Newark’s West Ward – and it’s located in a familiar place.

On Monday, city officials and community members gathered at Speedway Avenue Elementary School on South Orange Avenue to celebrate the opening of the new Mary Eliza Mahoney Health Center.

The new clinic – which will operate at the elementary school – offers adult, pediatric and behavioral health care services, such as counseling and medication management. The health center has a family health practitioner and a behavioral health practitioner present, along with support staff such as registered nurses, certified medical assistants and registration clerks.

It will be open Mondays through Fridays, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Patients will be seen regardless of their insurance status. To schedule an appointment, residents should call 1-800-734-7083. Walk-ins are accepted.

City officials said the clinic won’t disrupt operations at the school, adding that it has a separate entrance and exit that leads into the parking lot on the South Orange Avenue corridor.

While the new clinic is designed to support residents of the West Ward, Bradley Court and family members/students attending Speedway Avenue Elementary, it will be open to all Newark residents.

According to a statement from the mayor’s office, the city’s Department of Health and Community Wellness has been trying to establish a footprint in the West Ward due to its high rate of uninsured residents.

The news has already gotten a thumbs-up from some people living nearby.

“I was overjoyed when the city told us they were going to open up the clinic to help thousands of residents in Newark, and especially those right here in my neighborhood,” said West Ward resident Theresa Ellis Wiggins.

“So many of my neighbors are without cars and now they can walk to get family health care,” Wiggins said.

“Providing our residents – particularly those who are uninsured or underinsured – with access to top quality health services is one of the highest priorities of our administration,” Mayor Ras Baraka said.

“By opening this clinic in the West Ward, we are offering critical services directly to this neighborhood, meeting residents right where they are, and in turn improving the health and quality of life for them,” he added.

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