Cooper University Health Care’s Center for Healing Unveils New Mobile Health Services Van to Expand Outreach to Those With Substance Use Disorders in Camden

Cooper University Health Care's Center for Healing has unveiled a new mobile health services van that will help expand outreach to those suffering from substance use disorders in Camden. The new unit was purchased through a $341,000 grant from Camden County as part of the nationwide opioid settlement payment to states.

The mobile unit will be staffed by a team of physicians, nurses, and navigators. Medical students from Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, medical residents, and fellows serve as volunteer support staff. The unit has a private exam room, a bathroom, and a dedicated waiting and registration area. It is fully equipped with heating and air conditioning and designed to be in the community all year. The mobile health van also is fully stocked with wound care and harm reduction supplies. The team will administer medications on a limited basis should a patient need it during their encounter. In addition, the team will provide wrap-around services, including clothing distribution and a limited number of snacks.

The exterior art on the van was created from works by patients who participated in art therapy at Cooper's Center for Healing.

"We are incredibly thankful to Camden County for providing the funding that allows us to expand our services in the community and meet people where they are in their healthcare journey," said Rachel Haroz, MD, center head for Cooper's Center for Healing.

The Center for Healing will partner with community agencies throughout Camden to establish a regular schedule for the mobile health services. The mobile unit will be transported to those locations by Cooper's EMS Services. The first agency to partner with the Center for Healing is Seeds of Hope Ministries, a Camden faith-based organization that provides a variety of outreach services for incarcerated individuals, ex-offenders, the unhoused, and those trapped in substance use disorders, among others. The mobile van will be available at Seeds of Hope and additional agencies throughout the city on a rotating basis.

"We are incredibly grateful to partner with the Center for Healing, the new mobile unit, and the dedicated addiction care team led by Dr. Rachel Haroz," said Brenda Antinore, director of Seeds of Hope Ministries. "The relationships we've built with the staff over the past several years have been a tremendous blessing to our ministry and, more importantly, to the people we have the privilege of serving. This partnership meets real needs and brings hope to those who need to know that change is possible-one day at a time, one life at a time."

In May 2023, Camden County officials announced an initial round of $1.2 million of funding it received as part of New Jersey's opioid litigation settlement. In addition to the funding to Cooper, Camden County was able to expand a variety mental health and substance use disorder services throughout the county, including community-wide naloxone distribution. Over the course of the next 20 years, the settlement will pay almost $32 million to Camden County, which will be funneled to community agencies through a grant program.

"This project will be incredibly impactful for those who are struggling with substance use disorder and cannot easily access medical care," said Commission Director Louis Cappelli Jr. "We are eliminating the barriers that commonly prevent people from seeking necessary, lifesaving medical care and we are bringing these services directly to the people who urgently need it. In Camden County, we are committed to being there for those who are struggling with the affliction of substance use disorder. This mobile health van will aid us in our mission of saving and changing lives."

"I commend Cooper University Health Care for taking this innovative step forward in expanding outreach to individuals struggling with substance use disorders," said Camden Mayor Victor G. Carstarphen at the unveiling. "This is truly a crisis that affects every community across the nation. The mobile unit will now be able to meet people where they are and provide critical wrap-around, mental health, and substance use disorder services throughout the Camden community. It is comforting knowing patients will have access to high-quality, evidence-based care."

"South Jersey is leading the way in innovative ways to reach and treat patients struggling with substance use disorder, and Cooper University Health Care's mobile treatment van is a crucial addition to this effort," said Congressman Donald Norcross, who attended the unveiling event. "I have made it a priority to fight this disease by working to guarantee that proven treatments like methadone are more accessible to our neighbors who are struggling with substance use disorder. This van and the team of professionals from Cooper on it will save lives and that is certainly something to celebrate. I want to thank Cooper University Health Care for their continued efforts to ensure access to high-quality care."

About Cooper University Health Care's Center for Healing

The Cooper Center for Healing, a State of New Jersey-designated Center of Excellence for substance-use disorders, is an integrated program that provides innovative, evidence-based, and compassionate care for patients with substance use disorders (SUD), pain, trauma, and psychiatric disorders. The center's medical specialists in addiction medicine, toxicology, emergency medicine, emergency medical services, internal medicine, family medicine, and psychiatry provide interdisciplinary care in hospital, ambulatory, and community settings.

The program's vision is to end the stigma of addiction and ensure that all people with substance use disorders have access to high-quality, evidence-based care so they may live full and satisfied lives.

Among our wide range of services, the Center provides:

• Hospital inpatient consultation.
• Outpatient SUD consultation.
• Program for pregnant or parenting women struggling with substance use and SUD.
• Full coverage services for SUD and mental health for uninsured and underinsured people, including people who are unhoused or undocumented.
• Care coordination.
• Peer recovery support.
• Transportation assistance.
• Emergency housing support.
• Individual, group, and family therapy.

About Seeds of Hope Ministries

Seeds of Hope Ministries began by the grace of God, in 1997, as a prison ministry known as South Jersey Aftercare. Over the years, the ministry into three distinct ministries serving different groups of people:

• South Jersey Aftercare (SJA) ministers to men on the inside and specifically ministers to them in their transition from prison.
• My Father's Hands (MFH), founded in 2001, comes alongside those who find themselves on the streets in South Camden.
• She Has A Name (SHAN), which began in 2005, is an in-reach and outreach ministry to ladies in the bondage of addiction who have turned in desperation to prostitution to support their habits.

All three ministries are now under the banner of Seeds of Hope.

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