Zufall Health Awarded More than $650,000 to Confront the HIV Epidemic in Essex County
Zufall Health’s HIV Services program is implementing a new, status neutral system of HIV care in Essex County, New Jersey, thanks a grant of more than $650,000 from the New Jersey Department of Health’s Division of HIV, STD, and TB Services. The grant program, Comprehensive Status-Neutral HIV Services for Focus Populations, is part of the state’s efforts to elevate HIV strategy in line with efforts to end the epidemic nationally....
Meet Your Provider: Patricia Kao, M.D.
Pediatricians have a big responsibility to the littlest members of our community: they help patients ages birth to 21 grow into healthy adults. For Zufall Health’s Patricia Kao, M.D., being a pediatrician also means helping young patients overcome barriers to care. As the lead physician at Zufall’s Plainsboro site for the last year and, previously, a physician at our Somerville location for five years, Kao uses a person-centered, trauma-informed approach to...
American Academy of Pediatrics Publishes Advice from Zufall Pediatrician Christine Pagano, M.D., About Keeping Kids Safe from Batteries
Christine Pagano, M.D., a pediatrician in Zufall’s Dover location, was published in October 2022 in the American Academy of Pediatrics’ digital publication HealthyChildren.org. Dr. Pagano’s article, “How can I protect my child from the dangers of lithium coin and button batteries?” addresses the growing problem of kids being admitted to emergency rooms for swallowing batteries, which are harmful to the body. Dr. Pagano writes: “In just 2 hours, lithium coin batteries can...
How Telehealth Transformed Our Delivery of Care
When Zufall Health’s clinical leadership first began discussions about telehealth with the New Jersey Primary Care Association (NJPCA), COVID-19 had yet to enter anyone’s vocabulary. Three years later, Zufall providers, including the Assistant Medical Director and family medicine physician Douglas S. Bishop, M.D., agree that telehealth has been essential for providing accessible and excellent health care delivery during the pandemic and beyond. In addition to mitigating the spread of the virus...
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...
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...
Pregúntele al Dr. Bob: ¿Sabe lo que es la próstata?
¿Sabe lo que es la próstata? Muchas personas no saben lo que es y tampoco saber su función. En realidad, es una pequeña glándula - normalmente del tamaño de una pequeña nuez – es parte del sistema reproductivo del hombre. Se encuentra en la abertura de la vejiga y ayuda a producir parte del líquido en el semen. Usualmente, los hombres no son conscientes de esto, pero a medida que envejecen...
Ask Dr. Bob: What Is the Prostate?
Do you know what the prostate is? Many people don’t know what it is or what it does. It’s actually a small gland — normally the size and shape of a walnut — that is part of the male reproductive system. It sits at the opening of the bladder and helps make some of the fluid in semen. Men are usually unaware of it, but as they age it starts to grow...