River Drive Construction Completes Facility for Ocean Health Initiatives in Lakewood, N.J.

ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. and LAKEWOOD, N.J. — River Drive Construction has recently completed a $3.6-million construction project for the Ocean Health Initiatives Lakewood Health Center, a health center providing care for people either uninsured or underinsured. Saphire + Albarran, LLC served as the project’s architect.

Serving as the general contractor for the project, River Drive Construction constructed a two-story, 16,000-square-foot facility in Lakewood, N.J., which was built on top of the existing 9,000-square-foot OHI building. The new facility houses an 8,000-square-foot obstetrics/gynecology and pediatrics wing that includes 20 examination rooms and an administrative area.

“We’re thrilled to announce the completion of the OHI Lakewood facility,” said Joseph Langan, president of River Drive Construction. “This project means healthcare services for thousands of people who otherwise couldn’t afford it. The OHI team was a pleasure to work with – they were acutely aware of the project’s challenges, and their trust in us helped them make quick and efficient decisions.”

The greatest challenge of the project was to conduct the work without interrupting day-to-day operation in the existing facility, he added.

Ocean Health Initiatives, which has two other sites in Ocean County, provides quality and affordable primary, dental, pediatric and obstetrics/gynecology medical care, as well as comprehensive social services to address a range of patient needs.

OHI recently hosted a grand reopening and ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Lakewood facility, which was attended by national, state and local politicians, including U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, U.S. Congressman Christopher Smith, N.J. Sen. Robert W. Singer and Lakewood Mayor Menashe Miller.

In addition to celebrating the new facility, the event highlighted the success of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Facility Investment Program, which provided OHI with $4.7 million in funding, part of which funded the Lakewood, N.J. project. OHI was one of four healthcare centers in New Jersey to receive federal funding from this program.