Cooper University Health Care in Camden and Deborah Heart and Lung Center in Browns Mills were honored at the New Jersey Hospital Association’s (NJHA) Annual Meeting on Friday with the 2018 Community Outreach Award. This award is in the category of enhancing access and quality of care to reduce disparities for developing HeroCare Connect, an innovative program to increase access to health care for veterans, active military, and their families.
HeroCare Connect is a first-in-the-nation collaborative project between two hospitals to provide specialty medical services to active military, military retirees, veterans, National Guardsmen, and family members of all military associated with the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JB MDL).
Launched in April 2017, Cooper and Deborah stepped in to fill the gap to address acute and chronic care needs. A dedicated staff personally handles every appointment request within 48 hours. They work from a call center at Deborah, and have a wealth of resources for additional services veterans may need, including PTSD counseling, and mental health or substance use issues. In less than a year, the program has scheduled more than 1,200 appointments for the more than 44,000 servicemen and women who live and work in southern New Jersey.