Community Health Worker Program
In September 2025, RWJBarnabas Health leadership, including Mark Manigan, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Balpreet Grewal-Virk, Senior Vice President, Community Health, joined many of the over 70 CHWs in the health system to commemorate the team’s 100,000th patient interaction.
RWJBarnabas Health’s Community Health Worker (CHW) Program is a critical, system-wide initiative designed to tackle the state’s most pressing social determinants of health, including food insecurity, housing instability and transportation barriers.
CHWs are trained frontline professionals embedded in hospital inpatient units, emergency departments, community-based settings, and in the Federally Qualified Health Centers we partner with. They meet patients where they are—building trust, assessing needs and connecting individuals and families to vital community resources that support long-term health and stability.
Working in close collaboration with clinical teams and community organizations, CHWs help close care gaps, improve patient outcomes, and reduce emergency room visits and hospital readmissions.
CHWs work alongside patients and community members to:
- Screen for social determinants of health
- Connect them with social and health resources
- Provide ongoing follow-up and navigation services
- Facilitate rides for eligible patients through our fleet of transportation vehicles and rideshare partnership to help patients reach hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, food pantries, and RWJBarnabas Health Food Farmacies—directly improving access and appointment adherence
The CHW Program is currently active across all RWJBarnabas Health hospitals and communities.
This program reflects RWJBarnabas Health’s mission to build and sustain a healthier New Jersey.
To learn more or connect with a Community Health Worker, please call 201-351-3159.