The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine has officially become an independent medical school, capping a three-year process that initially saw it partner with Seton Hall University, according to Hackensack Meridian Health.
The school, located in the On3 complex in Nutley, opened three years ago as a partnership between the health system and the university. The agreement was restructured in 2018, with HMH assuming complete financial responsibility and both partners agreeing on a path to eventual independence.
“We are extremely proud of the journey we have taken to create an independent medical school,” HMH CEO Bob Garrett said in a prepared statement. “We have worked closely with our partner Seton Hall University to establish a school that will lead the nation in medical education, as well as create a physician workforce highly trained to excel in a new state of health care.”
The school and Seton Hall will remain strategic academic partners with interdisciplinary connections, HMH said.
“I am confident our HIS campus — and the alliance that supports it — will play a major role in creating a safer and healthier world for everyone,” Seton Hall President Joseph Nyre said in a statement. “We remain focused on enhanced, team-based approaches to medical and health education. These approaches will continue to serve our nursing and health and medical science students, as well as Seton Hall undergraduates who dream of studying at a world-class medical school.”
The school offers a three-year path to residency. Its first class in 2018 included 60 students, and the 2019 class included 90. The latest class, which enters in July, includes 123 students.
“Our vision — which we believe is achievable — is that all citizens within the state of New Jersey — and eventually across the nation — deserve the same level of health outcomes regardless of race or socioeconomic status,” Dr. Bonita Stanton, the school’s founding dean, said in a statement. “The entire curriculum is built around this vision.”
