Camden Coalition and the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation announce $3.3 million in grants
Building the complex care field Strengthening ecosystems of care
New Jersey Safety Net Innovation Program (“NJ SNIP”)
Building the complex care field Strengthening ecosystems of care Education & training Measurement & evaluation Workforce development
What is NJ SNIP? An overview
In late 2023, the Camden Coalition, in collaboration with the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation (BMS Foundation), announced 11 grant recipients of the New Jersey Safety Net Innovation Program (NJ SNIP), which aims to strengthen the healthcare safety net in New Jersey and improve health equity.
The Camden Coalition was selected by the BMS Foundation through a competitive proposal process to co-design, implement, and administer this new grant program on their behalf due to our two decades of experience working with individuals with complex health and social needs, and our reputation as a leader in developing equitable models of care.
Recipients of the NJ SNIP grants will receive flexible funding from the BMS Foundation for two years to address the community and/or strategic capacity-building needs in their communities. The Camden Coalition will offer tailored one-on-one technical support related to project management and implementation barriers as well as other technical resources.
Historically, safety net organizations have positively influenced health outcomes for individuals affected by health inequities regardless of their financial status. By providing flexible funding resources and technical assistance to safety net organizations, the BMS Foundation hopes to strengthen their ability and capacity to better address inequities and build relationships with community members and other health and social services providers in the community.
NJ SNIP grantees and project descriptions
To be eligible for this inaugural pilot cohort, applicants needed to be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in the state of New Jersey and qualify as one of the following four organization types: community health center, free and charitable clinic, essential/safety-net hospital, or a Regional Health Hub. Recipients of the grants were selected by a panel of external, independent reviewers based on their high potential for community impact and commitment to fostering meaningful partnerships with community members. The inaugural grantee cohort includes:
Care Plus Bergen, Inc. (Bergen New Bridge Medical Center)
- Project name: Improving Healthcare Access for the LGBTQ+ Community Through Telehealth and Navigation
- Project goals: Expand LGBTQ Wellness Center to offer wraparound services like patient navigation, assessment of social determinants of health, and referral services. Care Plus Bergen, Inc. will work together with one to two community-based organizations to create a hybrid telehealth care system.
Greater Newark Health Care Coalition
- Project name: Greater Newark Pediatric Asthma Safety Collaborative
- Project goals: Design and implement a community-based quality improvement strategy to improve the outcomes of pediatric asthma patients in the Greater Newark communities of Newark, Irvington and East Orange. The project design will involve conducting focus groups, providing training to healthcare providers treating pediatric asthma patients, and upskilling community members to implement educational and awareness activities within their communities.
Health Coalition of Passaic County, Inc.
- Project name: HCPC Pathways to Success for Diabetes
- Project goals: Reinitiate and expand the evidence-based community hub model to provide health education, medical assessments, medical referrals, food assistance, and social service assistance to patients with diabetes.
Henry J. Austin Health Center
- Project name: Sustaining Health: Advancing the Hypertension Control Initiative
- Project goals: Expand the Hypertension Control Initiative by providing remote blood pressure monitoring devices with enhanced automation to 500 patients. This pharmacist-led intervention will be supported by Community Health Worker outreach.
Ocean Health Initiatives
- Project name: OHI Pediatric Centering with Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation
- Project goals: Establish a prenatal centering service for expecting mothers in Freehold Boro to improve maternal and infant health outcomes by incorporating non-traditional maternity care strategies.
Osborn Family Health Center, Inc.
- Project name: Improving Access to Quality Healthcare
- Project goals: Expand access to patient-centered care through the addition of an OB/GYN patient coordinator and two patient navigators to serve as liaisons between referring physicians, hospital facilities, and all other collaborating health center entities.
South Ward Children’s Alliance DBA South Ward Promise Neighborhood
- Project name: South Ward Community Wellness
- Project goals: Expansion of services at the newly created Wellness Center will focus on increasing Community Health Workers, Social Workers, and navigation services, as well as providing family support services such as infant necessities.
St. Joseph’s University Medical Center
- Project name: St. Joseph’s Health- Team Based Doula Pilot Program
- Project goals: Launch a pilot program to expand existing doula staff from 2 to 6 full-time doulas, providing 24/7 supportive care and co-creation of culturally sensitive birth solutions at every stage of pregnancy.
Urban Health Institute (“UHI”) at Cooper University Health Care
- Project name: Building Bridges: Addressing Social Determinants and Enhancing Community Connections
- Project goals: UHI and the Center for Family Services (“CFS”) will partner to deliver a more effective SDOH assessment, referral, coordination, and bi-directional feedback process between clinical care and social service providers. This partnership aims to provide holistic care to patients living with chronic conditions in Camden City.
Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey Community Health Center (VNACJ CHC)
- Project name: Transforming VNACJ CHC into a High Reliability Organization
- Project goals: Implement the five principles of High Reliability Organizations across all HNACJ CHC sites, from leadership to the entire employee base, to reduce preventable errors and embed a culture of safety for its patients.
Zufall Health Center, Inc.
- Project name: Integration of MAT and Primary Care for Vulnerable Populations
- Project goals: Establish a holistic approach to serving patients with substance abuse disorder by integrating Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) with primary care, behavioral health support, and case management for patients in Zufall’s service areas.
Information about the 2023 Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation’s NJ SNIP including program requirements, grant details, selection criteria, and more can be found in the request for applications document.
Information about the program aims, intended outputs and outcomes can be found in the program logic model.