South Middlesex Times

When the Rutgers Global Health Institute was created in 2017, its leaders had a question for colleagues on campus: How many were engaged in global health?

To find out, the institute did what any group of scientists seeking answers might do: It conducted a survey.

Even today, the results paint a compelling picture of Rutgers’ commitment to health equity: Of the 653 projects identified in disciplines as diverse as business and engineering, more than half involved New Jersey populations, underscoring the idea that improving global health outcomes starts at home.

Denise Rodgers, vice chancellor for interprofessional programs at Rutgers, heads the Rutgers Equity Alliance for Community Health (REACH), a $10 million initiative to address social determinants of health in three New Jersey cities: Camden, Newark and New Brunswick. REACH’s goal is to focus Rutgers’ resources in addressing nonmedical factors that influence health outcomes, including schooling, employment and food security.

“If you’re hungry, you’re not going to have good health,” Rodgers said. “If you don’t have access to adequate housing, you’re not going to have good health. And if you have poor education, you’re less likely to have good health.”

“We want to facilitate the development of sustainable longitudinal partnerships between Rutgers Health faculty and community organizations,” Rodgers said. “We also want faculty and students to get inspired by doing community-engaged scholarship.”

Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, said reducing health inequality requires strong public-private partnerships – like those being forged at Rutgers.

“Academic health centers excel at promoting diversity and cultivating community engagement in the name of better health outcomes,” said Pérez-Stable. “By working together to implement what we know works, health equity can become the rule, rather than the exception.”

New Jersey Health Commissioner Kaitlan Baston, who also addressed the symposium, said achieving the highest levels of health for everyone is a priority for the state. “[Equity] keeps patients at the center of health care with appropriate community voices in the room, representing differing backgrounds, abilities and languages when designing access,” Baston said.

“At Rutgers Health, we’re looking to build a new equitable normal, rather than simply a new normal, to address racial inequity and health disparities across our state and beyond,” Strom said. “To paraphrase Albert Einstein: With challenges comes opportunity.”