New Hamilton clinic aims to close care gap for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism

A new health center in Mercer County is aiming to close long-standing gaps in care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism.

The Woods Primary and Behavioral Health Center at Hamilton, developed by RWJBarnabas Health and Woods System of Care, is billed as the first integrated clinic of its kind in New Jersey, combining primary and behavioral health services for this population.

“This population has had a very challenging time seeking services in traditional settings not designed with their needs in mind, and that unmet need is now beginning to be addressed here,” said Frank A. Ghinassi, senior vice president of behavioral health services at RWJBarnabas Health and president and chief executive of Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care. “This project shows what can happen when organizations come together with a shared purpose to remove barriers and innovate.”

The partnership joins New Jersey’s largest academic health system with Woods System of Care, which calls itself the largest provider of services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“We could not do what we do in the community without a hospital partner,” said Tine Hansen-Turton, president and CEO of Woods System of Care. “Being able to partner with RWJBarnabas Health System enables us to provide the full care continuum from primary and behavioral health all the way into allied health, hospitalization, and specialists.”

The Hamilton center is modeled on the Medical Center at Woods in Pennsylvania, described as the first integrated primary and behavioral health facility for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the country. That facility has reported more than a 20% reduction in emergency room visits and nearly a 40% decrease in hospitalizations, according to the organizations.

The New Jersey clinic will offer annual physicals, immunizations, preventive screenings, chronic disease management, behavioral health and psychiatric evaluations, therapy, medication management, care related to COVID-19 and access to specialists within the RWJBarnabas Hamilton Hospital network.

A key focus will be helping young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism move from pediatric to adult care, with support from developmental pediatric specialists.

“Moving people from the margins of treatment and society into the forefront and the mainstream is something that has been a long time coming,” said Mark Williams, chair of the Woods System of Care Board of Trustees.