Dr. Sally Radovick describes the Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital this way — as the facility celebrates its 20th anniversary.
“The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital is at the center of a true pediatric academic health campus,” she said. “Combined with biomedical research at the Rutgers Child Health Institute and the PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital’s advanced pediatric rehabilitation care, we are uniquely positioned for future breakthroughs in research and treatment.”
Radovick, who serves as physician-in-chief at BMSCH, and chair of the department of pediatrics at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, said the impact of providing nationally recognized care to the children and families of New Jersey and the region cannot be overstated.
BMSCH brings together clinical research, the latest therapies and the nation’s top physicians and nurses to treat complex pediatric illness at its New Brunswick campus.
During the COVID-19 pandemic and the advent of the rare but severe Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome in children, BMSCH emerged as an international leader in research and treatment of the condition. The kids-only facility has attained advanced designation in critical care, trauma, transplant and neonatology, as well as national ranking in specialty care.
And BMSCH is one of only two hospitals in New Jersey to provide pediatric ECMO, a mechanic system that pumps and oxygenates a patient’s blood outside of the body, allowing the heart and lungs to rest in the most critically ill newborns and children.
BMSCH is the focal point of New Brunswick’s growing academic children’s health campus, which includes Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School’s Child Health Institute of New Jersey, PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital, Ronald McDonald House and the Embrace Kids Foundation.
The 105-bed, state-designated, acute care children’s hospital is a state-of-the-art facility that is specially designed to care for children. From pediatric surgery, urology and cardiology to oncology, hematology, pulmonology and pediatric trauma/emergency care, BMSCH’s specialists provide advanced care for children of all ages — from fragile newborns to adolescents. BMSCH is also home to New Jersey’s first designated pediatric trauma center, a regional perinatal center and a pediatric surgery center.
William Faverzani, a vice president and chief administrative officer at BMSCH, said the hospital is committed to a family-centered care philosophy and continues to innovate and expand key services to promote healing and provide resources and support during stressful times for families. The hospital features the state’s largest Child Life Program, which promotes the psychological wellbeing of hospitalized children.
“Kids are truly our cause to celebrate,” he said. “Thanks to the support of our donors, community and partners, BMSCH has flourished into an institution where medical and surgical specialists provide unparalleled academic and clinical capabilities. New Jersey families can expect decades more of innovation, research and access to therapies that are available at only a small number of elite institutions nationally.”