South Middlesex Times

The H.O.P.E. Clinic, part of the Rutgers School of Health Professions, has been awarded a grant to transition from paper records to an electronic health record (EHR) system. This free clinic serves uninsured patients in Plainfield, New Jersey. The grant comes from the athenaGives Free Clinic Partnership Program and will provide a cloud-based EHR service at no cost starting in December 2024.

Jessica Gomes, an assistant professor and interpreter coordinator at the H.O.P.E. Clinic, authored the grant proposal. She emphasized that "transitioning to electronic records is a crucial step for the H.O.P.E. Clinic," adding that it will enable more comprehensive care and improve efficiency by reducing paperwork.

The clinic opened in 2021 and addresses significant healthcare needs in Plainfield, where about 30% of residents lack insurance and 39% do not have a primary-care provider. The clinic is among approximately 1,400 free clinics across the United States serving around 1.7 million people annually.

Frank Giannelli, director of the H.O.P.E. Clinic and an assistant professor at Rutgers School of Health Professions, noted rising demand: “In 2022, we saw 213 patients; in 2023 we saw 309; and this year, we have seen 312 so far.” Patient visits increased from 413 in 2022 to 748 so far this year.

This move to electronic records follows previous efforts to enhance patient care at the clinic. In recent years, Quest Diagnostics partnered with Rutgers Health to expand patient capacity and offer no-cost lab tests for managing conditions like diabetes and hypertension.

Giannelli also highlighted the financial impact of such initiatives: “Based on the average one-time emergency department visit cost of $1,389, free clinics save emergency departments an estimated $9.6 billion each year.”