School-Based Newark Health Clinic Is ‘Bringing Doctors To The Block’

NEWARK, NJ — Newark’s newest health clinic is already making a difference for some local residents.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka recently led a discussion about the Mary Eliza Mahoney Health Center as part of his weekly roundtable conversations. Watch the video below (it's cued to the discussion about the health clinic), or view it online here.

The new clinic – which will operate at Speedway Avenue Elementary School, 701 South Orange Avenue – 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.

• See Related: New Public Health Clinic Opens Inside Newark Elementary School

According to a previous 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.

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.

“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,” Baraka said at a ribbon cutting ceremony in late June.

Other city leaders elaborated on the benefits the clinic will have at last week’s round table discussion.

“Speedway Avenue School was the first opportunity to really establish a footprint in the West Ward, but also within a community setting – a true residential setting,” said Ketlen Alsbrook, chief of staff for the Newark Department of Health.

Alsbrook said that the city is excited to partner with the Newark Public School District on the clinic, which has already begun seeing patients.

“Part of the reason why this is so necessary is because when we look at all the health metrics throughout the city – and when we look at the differences and disparities across the different wards – we know that heart disease, cancer, strokes, diabetes are in the top 10 leading causes of death,” Alsbrook continued.

“And when we look at the metrics in the West Ward, [it] consistently ranks at number two – second only to the Central Ward when it comes to high blood pressure rates, high cancer rates, high rates of heart disease … and so it’s even more important for us to make sure that the residents in that community have easy, unfettered access to health care services,” Alsbrook said.

Dupré Kelly, the city councilor representing the West Ward, has been reaching out to his constituents about the new resource available in the community. And according to Kelly, better accessibility to health care is something that he’s been pushing for since he was elected in 2022.

“It does a couple of things,” he said. “It helps with financial constraints, for some people who can’t make it, who can’t take public transportation or they don’t have a car.”

It also can be a good preventative measure to have a health clinic within walking distance, he said – and that may potentially help to alleviate pressure at hospital emergency rooms in the city.

“It brings the doctors to the block,” Kelly said.

When the councilman asked if similar plans are expected for other parts of the city, Alsbrook replied that “to the degree we can – yes.”

“Speedway was perfect because it was a relatively new space, and so the cost of renovating it wasn’t extreme,” Alsbrook said.

In addition, the space offers a separate entry and exit into the clinic, so that its operations won’t impact day-to-day activities at the school.

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