A new state-of-the-art community health center marked its grand opening in Red Bank today to help expand access to critical health care services for Monmouth County residents, said Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester), who requested and secured $400,000 in federal funding to help complete the project.

            As part of Smith’s efforts to win funding support for the Red Bank health center, he elevated the health center in the congressional appropriations process by designating it as a Community Funding Project and wrote a letter to the Chair and Ranking Member of the Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee requesting $400,000 for its construction.

            “This new community health center will expand vital care for thousands of Monmouth County residents by helping even more families get access to the primary, dental, chiropractic and mental health care services they need,” said Smith.

Run by the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey (VNACJ), the Red Bank health center features eight exam rooms, a new in-house dental practice and a team of skilled primary care providers who will offer crucial medical services to residents across Central Jersey.

            “The VNACJ Community Health Center in Red Bank will help ensure a wide range of necessary, affordable and quality health services are available to sick and suffering patients in our community and expand capacity so more residents in our area can be served,” Smith said.

            Designated as a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), the VNACJ Red Bank Community Health Center will provide care at a sliding cost to members of the community, ensuring that quality of care will not be determined by ability to pay.

            A longtime proponent of affordable health care services, Smith has personally worked to help several health centers in Central Jersey secure the FQHC designation and the subsequent federal support they need over the years.

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