Zarephath Health Center

06/02/2025

We are saddened to report the death of our beloved volunteer Robert MacDonald on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, at the age of 97. Until only a few months ago, he was always at the clinic early, doing handyman work, cleaning up, organizing the files, helping with mailings, answering the phones and making sure everything was working. He was the greeter of our patients with a smile and kind word.

He was a wonderful example of selfless giving and was an inspiration to us all. He loved God, his family and loved helping others. He will be greatly missed.

His obituary can be found at the Sheenan Funeral Home in Dunellen, NJ.

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12/02/2024

Merry Christmas, 2024

In 1999, Hurricane Floyd put the entire Zarephath Campus in Somerset, NJ, between the Raritan River and Canal, under 14 feet of water. A little house on the edge of the campus was left empty, and we got permission from the Pillar of Fire to set up a clinic to help the poor and uninsured. The government assistance programs were leaving so many behind and we wanted to fill in the gap. Volunteers cleaned up the building, erected walls and we opened our doors in 2003.

We began to see the homeless, the undocumented, single mothers with small children, and the under-employed who were barely making it. They had high blood pressure, diabetes, abdominal pain rashes, and pneumonia. Word of mouth caused us to grow, and in 2011 we moved into a new building out of the flood plain. Two weeks after we moved in, Hurricane Irene destroyed our first clinic. God had given us the green light to press on.

We see people who had just lost their jobs, people whose spouses had left them, those who were recently discharged from prison or psychiatric hospitals with no outpatient availability. We never shut down during the COVID pandemic and God kept us healthy.

When Daniel talked to King Nebuchadnezzar at the height of his power, he told him to “break from his wicked past and be merciful to the poor.” God’s heart is with those who are struggling, and we feel privileged to be His hands and feet. This is real charity, where the giver and recipient are truly blessed.

We accept no government money and are completely dependent on gifts from people like you. For these past 21 years, we have relied on volunteer doctors and nurses to bless so many. Physicians from other countries volunteer to learn how medicine is practiced in the United States. High school and college students play an important role as they volunteer in many ways.

At this time of year, we ask you to make a tax-deductible donation so we can continue to do this important work. The cost to provide care is just $15 per patient visit as we use the funds carefully.

May God shed his grace on your family during this beautiful time of year.

Sincerely, Drs. John and Alieta Eck, Dr. Albert Johnson, Dr. Norm Shoenfeld, board members, graduate physicians, nurses, medical students, volunteers and the office staff of the Zarephath Health Center

To donate, mail check to:

Zarephath Health Center, 3 Ministry Center Drive, PO Box 9182, Somerset, NJ 08873

01/26/2024

Alexis Ogalo, senior at Hillsborough High School and Madison Phillips, senior at Immaculata High School are volunteering, learning how to care for patients. They are both interested in pursuing careers in health care.

12/30/2023

As 2023 comes to an end, we want to express our appreciation for all the volunteers who have given of their time to help care for those in need. It has been a privilege to work through the COVID pandemic without fear, as we have learned how to treat patients with the virus.

We have weathered floods and have seen the Hand of God protect us each time. The photo below was taken after Hurricane Ida brought waters to our foundation and then retreated.

We are grateful for those who have donated to keep the doors open and to Zarephath Christian Church for its support. God is good.

The Zarephath Health Center is a model of community based, non-government health care for the poor an

08/02/2022

Krithika Shrinivas, Emory College senior, prepares to take the MCATs to get a spot in medical school. Melanie Chin, Hillsboro High School senior is a faithful volunteer, learning the art of medicine as she shadows the doctors at the ZHC. Andrew Smith, heads back for his junior year in college in Branson, MO. All have been helpful in keeping the rooms clean, talking to and bringing in patients. We will miss those who are leaving but will welcome new students. Part of our mission is to convey our love of medicine and the patients we serve. Medicine is not a job but a calling.

09/04/2021

First it was Hurricane Floyd, then Irene and now Ida that barreled through the campus of Zarephath on September 1, 2021. We opened this new facility 10 years ago, and have yet to find out its status.

On Wednesday night it was rainy, but otherwise not unusual. 14 patients were seen and we began to leave. It was then that we realized that this was no typical rainstorm. The street was impassable due to flood waters. Up to 12 inches of rain had suddenly been dumped on our area.

We parked on high ground and made our way back to the clinic where we spent the night. One woman was rescued from the top of her car underwater on Weston Canal Road and was given shelter along with 13 volunteers and patients. Chairs became beds, crackers were rationed, and everyone hunkered down for a long night.

In the morning we made our way out being rescued by trudging through the back of the campus. Sue Hildebrant was the last to leave by boat and was put up in a hotel with other Zarephath residents. Our bookkeeper Deborah lost everything in her apartment and many of us returned home to flooded basements. But no one was seriously injured. God blessed us.

Here is an aerial view taken on September 2nd, the morning after. You can see the two rectangular modular buildings at the bottom of the video toward the end, the one on the left being the Zarephath Health Center. We have yet to see what the future holds, but we know Who holds the future.

Homes in the Lost Valley section of Manville were under water in the wake of heavy rainfall from Hurricane Ida remnants. On the other side of the Millstone R...

01/03/2021

Due to illness and the need to quarantine, the Zarephath Health Center will be closed until at least January 11th. For those who need refills, call during our usual clinic hours— from 8:30 until about noon on Mondays and Thursdays, and from 5:30 until 8PM on Wednesday night. Be sure to speak to someone in person, as messages will not be retrieved.

08/18/2020

In mid-March, when the economy came to a halt and only essential businesses were allowed to remain open, a new volunteer showed up. Danielle Rinaldi is an EMT and got right to work, doing intakes, taking blood pressures and keeping the exam rooms spotless. Now she is off to Boston College, planning to become a physician. We wish her well. She is off to a great start.

Also pictured are Martha Decker, RN, Sharonya Thodupunoori, junior at Emory, also a future physician, and Alieta Eck, MD.

07/10/2020

Life is hard out there. We saw a 20 year old, depressed and anxious. His disabled mother and he are homeless, sleeping on the floor of a friend's house. He is trying to work the night shift at a warehouse but cannot sleep during the day. We took the time to fill out paperwork so he won't lose his job until he can function again. He left feeling more hopeful. How many other young people are living on the edge? We are grateful for the opportunity to do what we can, and pray that these people can find the rest of the help they need.

05/14/2020

Real heroes wear masks. We saw 15 grateful patients tonight at the Zarephath Health Center. Agnes Sax drove up from Delaware to bring donated meds. Greg Quinlan has been filling in as our nurse during the Coronavirus lockdown.

Some patients were fearful. Some had high blood pressure. Some needed renewals of their meds. We wrote prescriptions or were able to give medicines donated by Direct Relief. All were blessed.

03/23/2020

Fallout from Coronavirus

This morning I took care of several patients at the Zarephath Health Center, grateful that we are open to be there for them. One patient, I will call her Karen, is a 52 year old who lost her job last week due to the store closing because of the Coronavirus scare. She will be paid until the end of the month which is one week away. She has been homeless since September, 2019, did not get her Medicaid notice to apply for renewal, so she lost that as well. Her extended family is not helpful as they have been abusive her whole life. Her now 12 year old daughter was taken by her aunt at birth and now is in a psych facility, soon to be discharged. Karen says she does not want to leave the area, so she can be available for her little girl.

Karen called social services to seek temporary housing, but was told they cannot help her. She called 211, a hotline to help house people when it is cold. The answer was that it is not cold enough. Karen is living in her car trying to get help from social services. Her son is with her, struggling with depression as he also lost his job last week. They are living in her car, painful for her back and diabetic feet. Her plan was to move to PA where the rent is more affordable, but now she is not sure what to do.

I was able to refill her medicines for hypertension, diabetes and diabetic neuropathy. I gave her medicines for her son as well. She knows that smoking is not helping, but she smokes to calm her nerves. She has been helped by a Domestic Violence Therapy group, so will contact them to see if they can help. One restaurant in town is preparing meals to give to the homeless, so we helped her to call them.

Karen does not attend church but believes that there is a God who cares about her. The Zarephath Health Center is an example of His provision. We are privileged to be here.

Psalm 91

03/18/2020

Feeling their Pain

It seems like the stories we hear get harder and harder, but it is a real privilege to be able to step in to help.

• One patient on Medicaid had had a knee replaced—twice, and each time a severe skin infection led to its getting infected, needing to be removed. The pain is severe and solutions are difficult. She gets home antibiotics in an IV PICC line. We listen to her story and make suggestions—and hopefully she will be made whole once again. While she sat in the exam room, she called her Medicaid caseworker, saying that she wanted us to be listed as her primary care physicians. We are happy to be “non-billing Medicaid providers.”

• A patient in her 30s was sexually abused from age 5-13. Her husband was abusive and caused her to live in constant fear until she was able to pull away. She committed her life to Jesus Christ a few years ago and is working through her PTSD, panic attacks and depression. She credits us for saving her life when she was at one point suicidal. She loves to come to the Zarephath Health Center where she is always welcomed, greeted warmly, getting the medical help she needs.

• Another woman revealed that her son died when he had a seizure just one month ago. Her blood pressure was very high, and we gave her medicine to lower it. We were able to supply her with the meds she needed for her diabetes as well. She has no family to give her emotional support and we told her about Grief Share, a support group that meets weekly at Zarephath. She needs a community that cares.

• The final patient of the day was a young woman who developed a severe medical illness two months before graduating from law school. She has struggled to pass the bar and works at a job that will make it very hard to pay back her $400,000 in education debt. How hard it must be to feel so helpless and hopeless. We will do all we can to provide the medical care she needs free of charge.