What Health Care Should Be Like: Zufall in the New York Times, 1992
In a world in which going to the doctor can be difficult or scary, especially for people with limited resources, Zufall Health has long represented what health care should be like: compassionate, community-oriented, and available to everyone. Zufall started as a small, volunteer-powered clinic inside St. John’s Episcopal Church in Dover. Here, founders Robert Zufall, MD (“Dr. Bob”), and his wife, Kathryn (“Kay”) created a space where underserved people and families,...
Why and How to Support Access to Health Care in Northern and Central New Jersey
“Growing up in a poor household, [my family and I] were given many opportunities and assistance. So, I believe that the success that my family has had, the opportunities that we’ve had, everyone deserves those.” So says former Zufall Health president and chief executive officer Eva Turbiner, who retired in February 2023, in a recent episode of the Community Foundation of New Jersey (CFNJ) podcast "Jersey Gives a Damn.” The daughter of...
The Power of Community Outreach: Laura Eirich’s Zufall Health AmeriCorps Story
Laura Eirich, MPH, oversees the Office of Community Health Workers at the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH). Community health workers (CHWs) — nonclinical health care professionals who provide health education, resources, and connection to health services — are a critical part of the U.S. public health system, bridging gaps between health care providers and underserved communities. Eirich, who earned a dual bachelor’s degree in public health and psychology from Carroll...
Zufall Health’s Community Dental Health Coordinator Training Program Facilitates Access to Dental Care in New Jersey and Beyond
Zufall Health is committed to providing access to high-quality, affordable, and culturally responsive health care, including dental care. Our Community Dental Health Coordinator (CDHC) program is one of our many innovative approaches for helping people access dental services, and the accomplishments of inaugural graduate Sherry Laliberte, RDH, in particular, help to illuminate its far-reaching impact. Above: Zufall Health dentist Antonella Maietta, DMD, conducts an oral health screening of a young child's...
Zufall Health’s Family Fun Day Events Serve Nearly 800 People, Highlight the Significance of Community Health Centers
Zufall Health celebrated National Health Center Week with two lively and family-friendly health events earlier this month: on Saturday, August 5, at its Hackettstown office, with 400 attendees, and on Thursday, August 17 at Franklin Middle School, the site of its school-based health center, with 375 attendees. Guests enjoyed a host of health services, resources, and activities during the celebrations that converged with the start of the back-to-school season, including: backpacks...
Pediatrician-Led Program Helps Kids Get Moving, Eat Healthier Foods
“It gives me so much joy to know how to eat better. I am happy and my son is happy. Thank you.” “I liked the topic about portions. I am very happy because I learned a lot. I am very grateful to the program.” “It helps me a lot because I can vary my kids’ meals.” “They are very productive and educational meetings.” [caption id="attachment_20604" align="alignnone" width="750"] An exercise session in Dover[/caption] These are just...
Meet Your Provider: Maria V. Menzel, MSW, LCSW
Zufall Health’s Maria Menzel, MSW, LCSW, will never forget the compassionate support that her family received from a hospital social worker during a family health crisis—the severely premature birth of her twin niece and nephew—12 years ago. The experience revealed to Menzel the importance of social workers in medical settings and paved the way for her current-day career in social work. Menzel was in the hospital with her sister, Tanya, the...
What We Can Learn from Dr. Bob’s 1991 Letter in the Journal of the American Medical Association
In 1991, Zufall Health—then known as the Dover Community Clinic—was a new organization with limited resources. Urologist Robert Zufall, M.D. (“Dr. Bob”), and his wife and medical business assistant, Kathryn (“Kay”), founded the small, one-night-a-week clinic after retiring from their nearby private practice. The same year, Dr. Bob wrote about the Dover Community Clinic in a letter to the editor of the Journal of the American Medication Association (JAMA), a highly...
HFNJ Grant Expands Team-Based Care for Essex County Seniors at Zufall Health
Zufall Health has expanded care for vulnerable Essex County seniors, courtesy of a generous award from the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey (HFNJ). The $120,000 grant from HFNJ supports our expansion of team-based medical, dental, behavioral, and supportive services to people 65-plus in and around our West Orange office. Seniors have an increased risk of chronic and communicable diseases, are more susceptible to social isolation, and are more likely to have...
Legal Issues Are Health Issues: How One Zufall Health Case Manager is Paying Forward the Help His Family Received
When he was 10 years old, Zufall Health case manager Erik Moran, his sister, and their mother faced wrongful eviction from their rented house in Morris County. The family was given one month to vacate their home—a violation of their lease—and suffered constant harassment from their landlord. The landlord spoke only English, and Moran’s mother, an immigrant from Ecuador, only Spanish. Moran took on the distressing responsibility of translating their heated...