SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 1863

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: MARCH 20, 1997

      The Senate Health Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 1863.

      This bill provides a supplemental appropriation of $50,000 to the Department of Health and Senior Services for a grant to Interfaith Health Services (IHS), a nonprofit health services organization whose mission is to reduce morbidity and mortality from common diseases in medically underserved areas in northern New Jersey. IHS currently provides screenings at various church sites for high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer and breast cancer and expects to provide additional screenings, including dental, vision, podiatry and gynecological examinations and vaccinations, in the future. Since its inception in 1994, IHS has screened more than 950 people. This grant will allow IHS to continue and expand the scope and number of medical screenings it provides to foster health promotion and health risk reduction in the State.