Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) Somerset, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, has appointed Perry Farhat of Bedminster as Director of Diversity & Inclusion and Administrative Director of its Babs Siperstein PROUD Center.
“Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset is committed to providing high quality, culturally competent care to our diverse communities, ensuring health equity and addressing disparities in care,” said Tony Cava, President and CEO, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset. “We also strive to provide an inclusive work environment which embraces the unique perspectives and experiences of all of our team members. In his role, Perry will help us expand those efforts as a best-in-class hospital for diversity and inclusion.”
Farhat previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney at the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. He was assigned to the Government Fraud Unit, where he prosecuted white collar crimes, including Medicaid and Medicare fraud, disability benefits fraud, tax fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, among other federal offenses. Farhat also served as the Office’s LGBTQ Special Emphasis Program Manager.
Prior to joining the US Attorney’s Office, Farhat prosecuted a wide range of criminal cases at the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office. While there, he acted as community outreach liaison organizing events and trainings in Somerset County’s most vulnerable communities. Before his posts prosecuting for the state and federal governments, Farhat clerked for the Honorable Deborah Silverman Katz, A.J.S.C., in Camden.
Farhat is a graduate of Rutgers Law School–Camden. He earned a master’s degree in regional and city planning from Boston University. While in Boston, he served as an outreach and advocacy coordinator with the Boston Redevelopment Authority, where he coordinated and managed eight bilingual community outreach liaisons, who provided financial literacy training, tax preparation and free health care enrollment to Boston’s underserved communities.
Farhat obtained a bachelor of arts degree from Rutgers University in New Brunswick.
RWJUH Somerset was the first in New Jersey to open a primary care center dedicated to the specialized health care needs of the LGBTQ community. The Babs Siperstein PROUD Center, which celebrates its fifth anniversary this month, offers comprehensive primary care, HIV prevention, hormone therapy and monitoring, annual wellness exams, health education and counseling and support groups. The hospital has been recognized as a “Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality” by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation six years in a row.
In 2021, RWJUH Somerset received statewide recognition for its community outreach efforts to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the Hispanic community. The hospital was honored with the New Jersey Hospital Association’s 2021 Healthy New Jersey Award and with NJBiz’s 2021 Health Care Hero Award.
Bilingual patient navigators with the hospital’s Chinese, Indian and Hispanic medical programs assist patients with making appointments, arranging for transportation for medical appointments, finding specialty doctors, filling out forms, accompanying patients to treatments and providing translation/interpretation services.
In addition, the hospital offers six employee-driven Business Resource Groups which support its diversity and inclusion initiatives.
For more information about Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset, visit www.rwjbh.org/somerset.