This session will explain the creation of the Medical Legal Partnership of Camden. Given the existing need for legal and medical services in Camden and given the role of the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers (CCHP), the Addiction Medicine Clinic at Cooper Hospital (AMC), and Rutgers Law (R-Law) as anchor institutions in the Camden community, all of which provide hundreds of hours of free or low cost services to Camden residents, we decided to combine our efforts to provide even better care to the people of Camden. This presentation will discuss the MLP planning stages, the pitfalls along the way, and provide some best practices for ensuring positive outcomes.

CCHP is a premier non-profit organization known around the country for its pioneering work with individuals who have high healthcare utilization. The AMC provides medication assisted treatment to patients dealing with substance use disorders. In conjunction with CCHP, they are currently administering a program to provide wrap-around services to pregnant women who are dependent on opioids. These patients are some of the most complex and frequently represent populations for whom public sympathy is slight. The medical needs of these populations are acute, and the law frequently impacts their lives as patients face evictions, warrants for low-level offenses, custody disputes, and more. Missing from the otherwise comprehensive work these organizations do with patients around a range of healthcare related issues is the ability to address patients’ legal concerns that often can impede a patient’s ability to become healthier.