Virtua has served the Camden community for more than 130 years. Now, South Jersey’s largest health system is extending its commitment to Camden City residents even further with the opening of the Virtua Health & Wellness Center - Camden.

The 34,500-square-foot building is a modern addition to Virtua’s longtime campus at 1000 Atlantic Avenue—enabling Virtua to enhance and expand its services. The facility is funded in part by donations to the Virtua Foundation, the fundraising arm of the not-for-profit health system.

“Virtua has been a vital part of Camden for more than a century, and this expansion of our campus increases our ability to serve the community,” said Dennis W. Pullin, FACHE, Virtua’s president and CEO. “The Health and Wellness Center is a partnership where our neighbors, friends, and patients can access the full spectrum of services for the mind, body, and spirit.” 

Currently, the Virtua Camden campus serves about 90,000 patient visits per year. With the debut of the new building, Virtua has expanded some services and added others.

New services include:

• A behavioral health program. This program is provided through the center’s primary-care office, the Kyle W. Will Family Health Center, to remove any stigma associated with mental-health services. Behavioral health—including treatment for depression, anxiety, and addiction—is essential to controlling chronic disease and maintaining overall wellness.
• A food pantry, designed to address food insecurity and chronic disease by providing Virtua patients with “prescriptions” for free produce and healthy foods. Eligible patients also receive free nutrition counseling, education, and social services for a year.
• Physician training. Virtua will offer medical residents a rotation in urban health as part of their medical training.

Expanded services include:

• More examination rooms. The Kyle W. Will Family Health Center has transferred to the new building and will continue to provide primary and specialty care for children and adults. The new location has 15 exam rooms—a 50 percent increase from the 10 exam rooms it had previously.
  The Kyle Will Center’s primary-care services are available until 9 p.m. Monday through Friday—helping to fill the city’s need for evening access to primary care. In addition, the Center offers same-day pediatric appointments, which helps address Camden’s pediatrician shortage.
• Larger exam rooms. Two of the exam rooms are larger than average to accommodate an entire family and medical team, enabling better coordination of care for patients with complex medical needs.
• More dental treatment rooms. The Noble-Evans-Wisniewski Dental Center, which provides affordable, state-of-the-art dental care, now has seven treatment rooms—a 40 percent increase from its former location.
• Enhanced conference space for community education and community group activities.

Other existing programs relocating to the new facility include:

• Virtua Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation
• Virtua Podiatry, including diabetes-related foot care and sports injuries
• Other specialty practices

“One of the most exciting benefits of the new center is that it will enable us to provide more preventive care to Camden residents,” said Debra Moran, Virtua’s vice president of community-based services. “Preventive care—such as routine doctor visits and health screenings—can help people avoid serious illness or catch diseases at their earliest stages, when they’re most treatable.” 

The two-story Health & Wellness Center is part of a city block of Virtua facilities, including a full-service emergency department and the Virtua CASTLE children’s behavioral health program. 

More than a dozen community-service organizations are also located on the campus, including Active Day adult daycare, Providence Pediatric Medical Day Care, Freedom Prep Charter School, and Liberty Park Neighborhood Association.