Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset in Somerville, N.J., has opened the first home in its transitional housing program for chronically ill patients and their families , according a local news website reports.
The home, opened June 28, is part of the hospital's Healing Homes initiative that will provide housing for up to 24 months for individuals with chronic illnesses and their immediate family, according to My Central New Jersey.
To be eligible for the program individuals must have a chronic or acute disease that causes financial hardship and makes them unable to afford housing. They also must have limited access to healthcare and earn an income below New Jersey Housing and Urban Development guidelines.
The program will offer participants access to a social worker and other support and training as well as financial counseling and mental health services.
The hospital plans to renovate and provide two single-family homes for eligible individuals or families. The renovations on the second home will begin later this year.
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset is a 341-bed regional hospital and a designated teaching hospital of New Brunswick, N.J.-based Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.