North Hudson Community Action Corp. opens facility in Hudson Regional Hospital

Will be NHCAC’s 10th federally qualified health center, but first within hospital

In a unique partnership that aims to improve access to health care in underinsured and uninsured populations, Hudson Regional Hospital announced that it will house an outlet for the North Hudson Community Action Corp. in its hospital.

The North Hudson Community Action Corp. is a federally qualified health center that received funding from both federal and state governments.

It aims to offer services that would be provided by a pediatrician or a general practitioner. Other services offered included adult medicine and pediatrics, as well as family planning and women’s health care.

Patients with and without insurance are welcome, as all FQHCs offer quality primary care to everyone who needs it, whether or not they can pay for it.

It will be the 10th location for NHCAC, but it will be the first location that resides inside a hospital — a significant attribute, as it means those that need extra attention can see specialists that are in the hospital.

Hudson Regional Hospital CEO Nizar Kifaieh is happy for the partnership.

“We are excited to have North Hudson Community Action Corp. operating from our Secaucus location,” he said. “Its leadership and clinicians will provide an essential health care component to our community.

“Residents of Secaucus can now receive full medical and preventative care here within the walls of our organization with our new partner.”

North Hudson board Chair Joseph Muniz said his group is happy to fill a need.

“We are also excited to provide services in Secaucus,” he said. “Mayor (Michael) Gonnelli and council members often spoke to me about the need to expand primary care in their community, and I am glad we are able to do so.”

North Hudson is the largest operator of FQHCs in New Jersey and has received the highest accreditation from both the federal Health Services and Resources Administration and the Joint Commission. Its other facilities are located in Jersey City, Union City, West New York, Harrison, Englewood, Garfield, Hackensack and Passaic.

In 2022 North Hudson served about 60,000 patients in its facilities, vaccinated thousands more in off-site locations and engaged in clinical trials to evaluate new medications and treatments.

Hudson Regional Hospital was named one of the top hospitals in New Jersey when it received an “A” score from Leapfrog, a health care rating agency.

After investing more than $40 million in upgrades and cutting-edge technology, the hospital has centers of excellence for robotic GYN, spine, joint replacement and bariatric surgeries. It is also a center of excellence for minimally invasive surgery and has had the greatest reduction in C-section rates in Hudson County.