Congratulations to Our Inaugural Class of Community Dental Health Coordinators
On Friday, September 9, Zufall Health honored its inaugural cohort of Community Dental Health Coordinators (CDHCs) in a graduation ceremony. The hybrid in-person/virtual celebration held in Zufall’s Dover headquarters capped a one-year program led by Zufall Chief Dental Officer Sam Wakim, DMD, MPH. Developed by the American Dental Association and initiated in 2007, the CDHC program trains dental professionals and other health professionals to improve access to oral health care. As...
Ask Dr. Bob: Are You Depressed, and What Can You Do About Depression?
We all have times when we feel bad, even guilty, about our lives, ourselves, our careers, or our futures. But for many people, this sad mood won’t go away and becomes a way of life. They may lack energy, have trouble concentrating, experience a change in appetite, or have sleep problems. It doesn’t do any good to tell them to just snap out of it. They would like to, but...
Celebrating the Value of Community Health Centers
Every year in early August the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) leads National Health Center Week (NHCW), a campaign celebrating the essential contributions that Community Health Centers (CHCs) make to local communities across the U.S. CHCs are community-based and patient-directed organizations that deliver comprehensive, culturally competent, high-quality primary health care services to vulnerable individuals and families. Zufall Health is proud to be a CHC! Annually, our nation’s 1400-plus CHCs serve an...
Meet Your Provider: Marcella Perez, M.D.
Zufall Health Family Medicine Physician Marcella Perez, M.D., is a first-generation Colombian American. She says that the similarities between Zufall’s patients and her own family members inspired her to join – and stay with – our health center. Perez has been providing care to children and adults at Zufall’s Morristown and West Orange sites for four years. She takes pride in being able to connect with her patients in their native...
Zufall Brings School-Based Care to High-Need Franklin Township
Zufall Health recently welcomed patients to our very first school-based health center! The new center, located on the campus of Hillcrest Elementary School in Franklin Township in Somerset County, marks Zufall’s tenth clinical site. A school-based health center (SBHC) is a health care facility within a school or on school grounds. The SBHC staff and school nurse work collaboratively to enhance the health and well-being of students, reduce absences, and maximize...
Eva Turbiner Retiring Following 16-Year Tenure
Zufall Health has announced the retirement of Eva Turbiner, whose 16 years as president and chief executive officer transformed a tiny clinic into a nationally recognized health center that now serves more than 41,000 underserved patients in seven New Jersey counties. Turbiner, whose career as a health-care executive spans more than three decades, said she will leave the organization at year’s end. “Eva’s vision and expertise have turned a small, volunteer operation...
How You Can Participate in the Fourth Annual Rural Oral Health Conference
Save the date! Zufall Health’s dental department will host virtually the Fourth Annual Rural Oral Health Conference on Friday, November 18, 2022 in partnership with the New Jersey Department of Health. The theme is “Diversity and Inclusion: Addressing the Needs of Marginalized Populations in Rural Communities.” Although the conference is still a few months away, it’s not too early to mark your calendar for the event! Zufall also welcomes commitments...
Why We Celebrate Pride
Happy Pride Month! LGBTQ+ people and allies observe Pride Month each June with rallies, parades, festivals, concerts, workshops, and dance parties. Learning about our country’s 50-plus-year history of Pride, the advancement of LGBTQ+ rights, and the continued marginalization of the community is also an excellent and meaningful way to commemorate the occasion. Did you know Pride Month began with a riot? The Stonewall Riots were a six-day series of LGBTQ+ protests...
Ask Dr. Bob: Why is Checking Blood Pressure Important?
Did you know that half of us have hypertension, or high blood pressure (BP), and that many of us probably don’t even know it? There are few early symptoms of hypertension, so you may only learn you have it when a health care professional takes your BP during a medical exam. BP is the force that moves blood through your body. Increased pressure in your arteries is like increased water pressure...
Meet Your Provider: Sarah Aleman, MSW, LCSW
When licensed clinical social worker Sarah Aleman, MSW, LCSW, joined Zufall Health, she was the organization’s only behavioral health provider and was serving a limited number of patients solely in Dover. Now, 12 years later, as director of behavioral health, she oversees a 19-member staff that serves patients at every Zufall medical site. Pursuing a career helping others was an easy choice for Aleman. At a young age, she assumed a...