Award Honors Organizations Making Significant Impact on Quality of Healthcare in New Jersey

EAST ORANGE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE) (Black PR Wire) - The Urban Healthcare Initiative Program (UHIP) is proud to announce it has been named a finalist in the NJBIZ Healthcare Heroes Awards in the Education Hero category.

“This is a big honor for us,” said Dr. Alexander Salerno, founder of UHIP, “we have been working for nearly a decade to educate and empower our urban community through innovative health education programs with the express purpose of improving healthcare and quality of life in our area.” Dr. Salerno is a second-generation physician of Salerno Medical Associates, a primary care, multi-specialty practice serving Northern New Jersey's urban communities since the early 1950's. He founded UHIP in 2010 to address what he observed as a growing disparity when it comes to healthcare metrics and healthcare outcomes in his urban community.

“Our goal is to combat long-standing cultural attitudes toward healthcare and motivate our community to take control of their health," said UHIP Community Outreach Liaison Kelvin Roberson. "We are always trying to find innovative ways to engage, whether it’s local churches, community centers, even barber shops.”

Last year UHIP’s Knowledge Is Power video series was awarded the pretigous Telly Award and Hermes Creative Award for its groundbreaking work to engage and educate urban communities to address dire health issues facing them. UHIP was also an NJBIZ Healthcare Hero finalist in 2016 in the Innovation Hero category.

"Being recognized for our work is crucial to raise our visibility and help get more support,” said Dr. Alexander Salerno. "My goal is to take UHIP’s message to the national stage. We need to educate everyone that, when it comes to their health, knowledge truly is power. And if we can motivate people to take control of their health, we can change the quality of life for millions.”

Winners announced June 19th. Find out more about UHIP at www.uhipnj.org.

About UHIP

UHIP is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit, community-based urban healthcare provider founded in 2010. Its mission is to educate inner-city residents in northern New Jersey about health problems affecting their communities, promote preventive healthcare, regular medical screenings, and coordinate the provision of healthcare services to individuals who may not have the ability to receive such services. www.uhipnj.org

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