PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff The Jewish Renaissance Medical Center in Perth Amboy welcomed Republic of Georgia first lady Sandra Roelofs on Sept. 16. Roelofs visited the facility to implement some of the medical practices that the U.S. uses. PERTH AMBOY — Because health insurance is unavailable to many people in this world, the Jewish Renaissance Medical Center announced a partnership with the Republic of Georgia on Sept. 16 as part of a collaboration intended to develop similar community-based health care services.
“We are still a developing country, and there are many challenges concerning health care within our country,” said Sandra Roelofs, First Lady of the Republic of Georgia, a nation tucked away in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north, Turkey to the west and Azerbaijan to the south. “There are problems with children’s and infant mortality, and poverty as well. Health care reform is full of challenges, and we hope that with this partnership we can start to help our nation.”
Jewish Renaissance Medical Center founder and President Dr. Alan Goldsmith said that the medical center, which is a federally qualified health care center, has a strong medical team that is able to provide primary health care services.
“Ms. Roelofs is an advocate of health care, and I am very happy that we are forming a partnership with her nation,” Goldsmith said. “Since March, we have received over $1 million from the stimulus package that President Obama has been pushing, so we are really excited to get started.”
Roelofs explained that her nation became independent in 1991 and that the decade after that was “wasted.”
“Things were difficult in our nation,” she said. “But now we are back on track and we are ready to take on problems, unlike some of the other nations in central and Eastern Europe. Over the last few years, we’ve taken many steps forward as far as health care is concerned.”
She also said she is looking forward to having staffers from the Jewish Renaissance Medical Center come to Georgia.
Roelofs mentioned that there are nearly 5 million people in Georgia but that only onethird of the people have health insurance, and that she would like her nation’s government to start regulating the health insurance companies so that more people can be assisted.
“So many procedures are not covered in Georgia,” Roelofs said. “We need to catch up with the middle class. Thankfully, we weren’t affected greatly by the global financial crisis too much. But it’s very vital to our development that we have better health care.”
The Medical Center developed a bond with Georgia after Goldsmith received a letter about a former Georgian soccer player who was in the U.S. for cancer treatment.
“We are committed to working with the people of Georgia,” Goldsmith said.

