PRESS RELEASE

Plainfield Health Center Receives Book Donation from Wardlaw Hartridge School
Student Volunteer Directs Volumes to PHC Reading Program

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, February 25, 2003-PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY- The Plainfield Health Center, one of fifteen 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 received a generous donation to its Reach Out and Read program of a few hundred books from the Wardlaw Hartridge School. The volumes have been sorted by reading level and age appropriateness and will be made available to PHC patients.

Through a grant obtained by Union County College, the Plainfield Health Center became a Reach Out and Read location several years ago. Under this literacy program, mainly focused on children, books are supplied to PHC through Scholastic Book Services. PHC is delighted to accept new and lightly used books from other sources as well. Knowing this, Wardlaw Hartridge Junior and PHC student volunteer, Jordan West, arranged for books being removed from the Wardlaw library to be donated to the Plainfield Health Center.

“As a volunteer at the Center, I knew of the Reach Out and Read program, and have been donating my lightly used books to PHC,” said Ms. West. “When I heard that the Wardlaw Hartridge Library had books to donate, I asked if the Plainfield Health Center could be the recipient.”

“The reading program at the Plainfield Health Center is important to the patients we serve, and we appreciate the donation from Wardlaw Hartridge, arranged by Ms.West,” said Julane Miller-Armbrister, President and Chief Executive Officer. “By giving our patients books to read, not only are we promoting literacy within our community, but we are also identifying illiteracy, which can have significant health repercussions. If a patient, or patient’s parents, cannot read, written orders from the medical staff cannot be followed, and medical care instruction must be adjusted accordingly,” said Ms. Miller-Armbrister.

In addition to distributing books to the patient population, the Plainfield Health Center seeks volunteers to read to the children in the pediatric waiting room. Please contact the PHC volunteer program on 908.753.6401, extension 218, with any questions or to volunteer to be a reader.

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 and neighboring communities, and to the City of Elizabeth. 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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