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Fostering Health Equity by Creating Equitable Housing: An Anchor Institution’s Journey
October 24 @ 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Presented by Kenneth Morris, Jr., MHA, MA
Vice President, External Affairs, St. Joseph’s Health
Supportive housing is a groundbreaking concept that combines affordable housing with essential services to provide stability, autonomy, and dignity to people grappling with complex challenges. The New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) Hospital Partnership Subsidy Pilot Program revolutionized the affordable housing landscape by leveraging hospital equity with the 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program to establish affordable housing developments near hospital campuses, catering specifically to frequent users of hospital services.
Recognizing the pivotal role of stable, affordable housing in healthcare, St. Joseph’s Health, in collaboration with HMFA and local agencies, opened Barclay Place, the first supportive affordable housing development in New Jersey. Launched in 2023, Barclay Place, located near St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson, offers vulnerable families and individuals the opportunity to rent affordable apartments and access vital supportive services St. Joseph’s Health provides. This innovative initiative embodies a new era of compassionate and comprehensive care, empowering individuals, and families to thrive in a nurturing and supportive environment.
As Vice President of External Affairs at St. Joseph’s Health, Kenneth M. Morris, Jr., MHA, MA, oversees operations at the Paterson, Wayne, and Totowa, NJ campuses. In this role, he manages Government Affairs, Community Outreach and Engagement, the System’s Regional Health Coalition, the Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program, and WIC, as well as a portfolio of the System’s real estate holdings. Over his 43-year career at St. Joseph’s, Ken has developed programs to enhance healthcare access for underprivileged residents in Passaic County. Notably, he spearheaded the creation of the first supportive affordable housing development in New Jersey, addressing social determinants of health.
The Ruth Ellen Steinman Bloustein and Edward J. Bloustein Memorial Lecture was established to honor the memory of these two extraordinary individuals. It celebrates the values and interests Ruth Ellen and Ed cherished and cultivated throughout their lives: the study and preservation of animal species and the natural environment, the celebration of love, happiness, and laughter as tools of clinical medicine, and the exploration and promotion of humane values, which they believed were woven in the fabric of Judaic tradition and passed down from generation to generation.