Vanguard Medical Group Marks Its First Anniversary in Jersey City

Meeting the critical need for primary care for children, adults and seniors with RWJBarnabas Health, Jersey City Medical Center and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey

FAIRFIELD AND JERSEY CITY, NJ — June 5, 2017 — Local dignitaries, physicians and staff gathered on May 4 to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Jersey City office for Vanguard Medical Group, a multisite primary care practice focusing on care for children, adults and seniors in Northern and Central New Jersey. Vanguard opened the Jersey City office on May 2, 2016, to meet the critical need for primary care in Hudson County, in collaboration with RWJBarnabas Health, Jersey City Medical Center and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield.

“Our local history demonstrates that when we work together, as a community, we are at our best,” said Jersey City mayor Steven M. Fulop. “With the state-of-the-art health care at Jersey City Medical Center, and now the entry of Vanguard Medical Group into our community, we’re developing a network of high-quality primary care. Together, we are building a powerful resource for Jersey City residents, to ensure that they continue to have access to the best care available.”

“We have been able to provide access to affordable and comprehensive primary care for residents of Jersey City,” said Robert Eidus, M.D., president of Vanguard Medical Group and medical director of the Cranford and Jersey City locations. “Excellent access to high-quality and comprehensive primary care services has been shown over and over again to achieve the triple aim of giving patients a positive experience, lowering health care costs and improving outcomes.”

“The health care landscape is changing, and providers are moving from providing fragmented services to individuals toward providing coordinated services for populations of patients, integrating all appropriate services in the community,” said Joseph F. Scott, FACHE, president and chief executive officer of Jersey City Medical Center, an RWJBarnabas Health facility. “We’re pleased to work with Vanguard and its Jersey City office to continue to improve access through convenient, accessible ambulatory services and quality clinical care.”

The partnership with these providers has expanded Vanguard’s ability to provide well-coordinated care to residents of Jersey City that starts at the primary care office and extends to the full trajectory of health care needs, including specialty care and hospitalization. The collaboration offers a seamless process for referrals and health care coverage.

“Our goal is to improve outcomes and keep people healthier,” said Steven R. Peskin, M.D., executive medical director, population health, for Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. “Over the past year, Vanguard Medical Group has been leading the way toward a better health care delivery model in Jersey City, and we’re proud to partner with them.”

Vanguard Medical Group at Jersey City is co-led by Sally Mravcak, M.D. She is board-certified in family medicine, integrative medicine and medical acupuncture, is fluent in Spanish, and has a special interest in women’s health care. “We have been delighted with the support that we have seen from the entire medical community in Jersey City and the Jersey City Medical Center,” said Dr. Mravcak. “We are also proud of the welcoming environment our staff has created. They’ve made it possible for patients to enter through the door and become part of the Vanguard family.”

Medical services at the Jersey City location include urgent care, advanced care coordination for patients with chronic illnesses, and prepaid comprehensive primary care for patients without insurance.

Vanguard Medical Group now has six offices throughout Northern and Central New Jersey and will soon be opening a seventh in Randolph, New Jersey, in June 2017. The practice is recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance in its Patient Centered Medical Home program. A PCMH is a primary care practice in which health care professionals work as a team to provide patients with care that is tailored to meet their specific needs and ensure they have the resources to make healthy choices. The team also coordinates patient care with other health care specialists in the community. The practice becomes the patients’ “home” for preventive, chronic and acute care.

Vanguard Medical Group at Jersey City is centrally located in the historic downtown district at 127 Montgomery St. The office is open Monday through Saturday, with evening hours available.  For additional information, call 201-431-7200.

About Robert Eidus, M.D.

Dr. Eidus is a board-certified family physician with a medical degree from Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, New Jersey. He completed his residency at Overlook Hospital, Summit, New Jersey. He spent 11 years in a teaching environment, including seven as chair of the Department of Family Practice and director of Family Practice Residency at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Paterson, New Jersey. In 2011, he served as president of the New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians.

He is a recognized national leader in family medicine education, and has spent 11 years as a health care executive in New Jersey, Cincinnati and Philadelphia. Dr. Eidus also spent 10 years on the Review Oversight Committee of the NCQA and currently serves as chair of the Commission of Practice and Quality of the American Academy of Family Physicians. He earned his MBA at the Kellogg Graduate School of Business Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. In 2002, he established a solo practice that followed a patient-centered medical home model, a comprehensive approach to patient care, which in 2012 merged with two other like-minded practices in Verona and Montville, New Jersey, to form Vanguard Medical Group.

About Sally Mravcak, M.D.

Dr. Mravcak is a graduate of Rutgers’ Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She completed her residency in family medicine at Somerset Medical Center, a fellowship in Women’s Health at RWJMS and training in medical acupuncture at Helm’s Medical Institute. She is board-certified in family medicine, integrative medicine and medical acupuncture.

Dr. Mravcak began her career working in a federally qualified health center, spending eight years caring for uninsured and underinsured people in New Jersey. She was appointed as an assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at RWJMS and remains active in providing education to medical students. Prior to joining Vanguard, Dr. Mravcak practiced full time in a women’s health center, providing comprehensive primary care, office gynecology and acupuncture.

Dr. Mravcak believes in providing evidence-based whole-person care that takes into account the role of body, mind and science in creating wellness. Throughout her career she has served on committees dedicated to quality improvement and participated in programs aimed at helping people make positive behavioral changes.  

About Vanguard Medical Group

Vanguard Medical Group P.C. is a regional primary care practice now serving more than 48,000 active patients in six locations throughout Northern and Central New Jersey. A seventh office is opening in Randolph in June 2017. Vanguard is recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance for patient-centered medical homes. A PCMH is a primary care practice in which health care professionals work as a team to provide patients with care that is tailored to meet their specific needs and ensure they have the resources to make healthy choices. The team also coordinates patient care with other health care specialists in the community. The practice becomes the patients’ “home” for preventive, chronic and ambulatory care.

Locations include:

• 570 South Ave., Building G, Unit A, Cranford, NJ 07016, 908-272-7990
• 127 Montgomery St., Jersey City, NJ 07302, 201-431-7200
• 61 Beaverbrook Road, Suite 301, Lincoln Park, NJ 07035, 973-696-6687
• 170 Changebridge Road, Suite C-3, Montville, NJ 07045, 973-575-5540
• 535 High Mountain Road, Suite 111, North Haledon, NJ 07508, 973-636-9000
• 477 Route 10 East, Suite 205, Randolph, NJ 07869 (Opening June 2017), 973-560-9500
• 271 Grove Ave., Suite A, Verona, NJ 07044, 973-239-2600

The motivation to develop a larger regional primary care practice was the recognition that the health care system was rapidly changing in ways that did not support small or solo independent physician practices. The founding physicians of Vanguard believe that a strong culture of locally led practices, guided by a shared vision and governed by shared values, must be at the core of this new organization.

Many of the founding physicians have practiced for more than 20 years in their respective communities and are leaders in their local health care delivery systems. Vanguard physicians have been at the forefront of primary care in New Jersey, and our staff includes past presidents of the New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians, residency directors, family practice department chairs at our hospitals, and faculty at our New Jersey medical schools.

Vanguard Medical Group accepts most major insurance plans. Website: vanguardmedgroup.com

Media Contact:

Sergeant Marketing | Nancy Sergeant, 973-334-6666, nsergeant@sergeantmarketing.com