PRESS RELEASE

Plainfield Health Center Hosts Community Forum
Center Stands Committed to Pediatric and Obstetrical Care

For Immediate Release: Thursday, April 17, 2003-PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY- The Plainfield Health Center, one of seventeen Federally Qualified Health Centers in New Jersey, dedicated to providing cost effective primary health care services for the residents of Plainfield and surrounding communities, announced today that it will be hosting a community forum to discuss the future of pediatric and obstetrical care in the greater Plainfield area.

The Plainfield Health Center has been serving the needs of the greater Plainfield area since 1969. PHC started as a well baby clinic, intent on lowering the greater than 30% infant mortality rate in the community. Since then, services and sites have been added, but a significant portion of the patient base is still comprised of pediatric and obstetrical patients. As healthcare changes, nationally and locally, providers are faced with difficult issues such as the state budget crisis, decreases in payment for services, the dismantling of Family Care, and the increasing costs of providing health care including cost for pharmaceuticals.

“Plainfield Health Center’s roots are in meeting the needs of the community it serves, and at a time of significant cutbacks at the state and local level, PHC is especially interested in the health care priorities of its patients,” said Julane Miller-Armbrister, Chief Executive Officer. “The intent of the forum is to give residents the opportunity to have a discussion with the physicians and leaders of PHC about the issues that affect care for children and pregnant women.”

The forum will take place in the Community Room at the Plainfield Health Center, 1700 Myrtle Avenue, in Plainfield on Tuesday April 22nd between 7:00PM and 8:30PM. Admission is open to the public but seating will be limited.

About The Plainfield Health Center

The Plainfield Health Center, incorporated as the Plainfield Neighborhood Health Services Corporation, was born in 1969 under the auspices of the 1960's Model Cities Neighborhood Program. Led by a dedicated group of community activists, the Center was initially created to provide accessible health care to the residents of the West End of Plainfield.

Since then, the Center has grown, added more services, increased the number of specialties of professional health staff, and expanded its reach to the entire City of Plainfield, the City of Elizabeth, and neighboring communities. Today, the Plainfield Health Center serves more than 20,000 patients annually. Its total care program provides adult medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, adolescent medicine, school based services, dentistry and ancillary support services.

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