JFK Health in Edison is officially merging with Hackensack Meridian Health on Wednesday morning, making the combined system the largest hospital network in the state, based on the number of locations from which it serves patients.
“JFK Health and Hackensack Meridian Health share a common mission and commitment to providing high-quality care and an enhanced patient experience,’’ Robert Garrett, co-CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health, said. “As we continue to grow, we will transform health care in New Jersey and provide residents with greater access to care in hundreds of locations throughout the state.”
With the addition of JFK Health, Hackensack Meridian Health will consist of 16 hospitals from Bergen to Ocean counties.
They include three academic medical centers:
- Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack;
- Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune;
- JFK Medical Center in Edison.
The system will have two children’s hospitals:
- Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital in Hackensack;
- Hovnanian Children’s Hospital in Neptune.
It will have nine community hospitals:
- Ocean Medical Center in Brick;
- Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank;
- Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair;
- Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen;
- Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy;
- Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin;
- Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel;
- Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge;
- Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood.
And it will include two rehabilitation hospitals:
- JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison;
- Shore Rehabilitation Institute in Brick.
HMH, with JFK joining its network, will have a total of 4,520 beds and employ nearly 33,000, including 6,500 staff physicians. The system is expected to have revenue of just under $5 billion.
Those numbers may soon be increasing.
Hackensack Meridian Health also announced the investment of $12 million in a major expansion of the cardiac catheterization lab at JFK Medical Center, to be completed this year, pending regulatory approval.
“JFK is already an outstanding provider of cardiac services in central New Jersey and, with this investment, I am confident we will not only maintain but expand this leadership role in serving the region,’’ Garrett said.
JFK has a strong reputation for its neuroscience care in the region, and has had existing relationships with legacy Meridian Health in the past, John Lloyd, co-CEO of HMH, said.
“We have a long history together through our partnerships with rehabilitation and home care, and we are both committed to providing the most advanced treatment,” Lloyd said.
“The addition of JFK’s Neuroscience Institute to Hackensack Meridian Health brings 25 years of advanced neuroscience care, education and research to our network. We are thrilled to announce that JFK Neuroscience Institute will be the first in the state to introduce Precision Virtual Reality medical visualization platform by Surgical Theatre.”
The technology mimics flight simulation, but is used to create 3-D diagnostic scans of patients’ bodies to help neurosurgeons determine the best strategy for an optimal outcome.
Raymond Fredericks, CEO and president of JFK Health, said the merger will benefit the communities that HMH serves.
“In a rapidly changing health care environment, this merger strengthens and aligns our services to maximize care options for everyone from newborns to our geriatric population,” Fredericks said. “Hackensack Meridian Health’s culture of high-quality care and innovation is one that matches our values and principles sustained during JFK’s 50-year history.”
RWJBarnabas Health, with an annual revenue of $5.1 billion, is the state’s largest system based on revenue. RWJBarnabas Health has 14 acute care locations.
