NJIT had been working to develop a CityMD Urgent Care on campus available to all students, faculty, and staff to take the place of the existing partnership between the university and St. Michael’s Hospital. On Aug. 5, CityMD, a national system with providers located in the New York and New Jersey area, opened a clinic on the first floor of Maple Hall, the university’s newest residence hall.
According to Deneen Scuderi, Director of Campus Health and Wellness Services, NJIT Health Services — through CityMD Urgent Care — provides services similar to that of St. Michael’s, which includes vaccinations, bloodwork, and allergy shots. Moreover, the clinic can handle cases of strep, influenza, and minor injuries, among other needs. For a full list of services, visit the NJIT CityMD website to understand the care that is available. Note that visits that require specialists will be referred to outside of the clinic but within their network of physicians.
To be able to access services, an insurance card as well as an NJIT ID must be shown at each visit. NJIT provides health insurance that is accepted by the clinic, which also accepts other major plans including Aetna and United Healthcare. Depending on the insurance plan one has, a co-pay will accompany the visit. For those who are not insured, services will still be provided at uninsured rates.
One benefit CityMD Urgent Care provides is that it is solely dedicated to the NJIT community, whereas St. Michael’s had to attend to both the NJIT population and the neighboring Newark community. This will drastically reduce wait times at the new clinic.
The Urgent Care is open Monday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. If patient wait times begin to exceed specified times, more hours will be added to the schedule to accommodate the demand for services.
In terms of availability, walk-ins are welcomed in addition to appointments, which can be booked on its website. In addition to the Maple Hall Urgent Care, there is a second clinic accessible to the NJIT community located on Broad Street. There are also telehealth services available through the Summit + CityMD App, providing many points of care to the NJIT community.
Scuderi oversaw the opening of the clinic; the first week saw 17 patients and she described that it was going well. She emphasized the many options students have to access quality healthcare, a cornerstone of the department’s mission. Ultimately, the Fall 2024 semester will serve as the baseline to judge the success of the clinic and to determine whether any changes are needed to maintain its promised standard of care.