Passaic County and Hawthorne Sign 10-Year Public Health Partnership
Post Date:07/21/2026 8:30 AMPATERSON, N.J. — Hawthorne residents will see a familiar face in Borough Hall each week, a Passaic County public health nurse, under a new 10-year shared services agreement that makes the County the Borough's public health agency beginning July 1, 2026.
Under the agreement, the Passaic County Department of Health Services will handle the full range of local public health work in Hawthorne: restaurant and food safety inspections, communicable disease investigation and immunizations, childhood lead poisoning investigations, health education programs, and inspections of pools, youth camps, body art establishments and tanning facilities. The County's licensed Health Officer will serve as Hawthorne's Municipal Health Officer and a public health nurse will hold weekly hours in the Borough.
The partnership also plugs Hawthorne directly into the County's emergency preparedness network, including mass immunization planning and 24/7 response coordination, and provides child health conferences focused on preventive care for infants and preschool children.
“This is exactly what county government should be doing, putting our public health professionals to work for our towns so residents get top-tier service and taxpayers get real savings,” said Passaic County Commissioner Christina Schratz. “When a Hawthorne family sits down at a local restaurant or sends their kids to summer camp, they can trust that County inspectors have been there first.”
“Partnering with Passaic County gives Hawthorne more public health service, not less,” said Hawthorne Mayor John V. Lane. “We gain a licensed Health Officer, a nurse in Borough Hall every week and the backing of a full county health department, resources no borough our size could build on its own.”
Hawthorne becomes the latest municipality to join Passaic County's shared health services program, following communities including Woodland Park, West Milford, Wanaque, Haledon, Prospect Park, Ringwood and Bloomingdale. The County has pointed to the model as a blueprint for stretching local tax dollars while expanding services, and the partnership with Hawthorne took effect July 1.
