Hackensack Meridian Health CEO Bob Garrett and St. Joseph’s Health CEO Kevin Slavin didn’t need to talk about the potential their new infusion center could bring to the community in Passaic County and North Jersey.
They have been seeing it since July.
While Tuesday night marked the ceremonial opening of the center — located on the Wayne campus of St. Joseph’s Health — Slavin said the impact of the center has been evident since they opened the doors in the summer.
“We’ve got a very busy service already,” he said. “We’re dedicating the center today, but we’re already seeing upward of 200 patients a month and growing.
“We’re delivering on our commitment to the community to expand and enhance cancer care services here in the region.”
Infusion treatments are commonly used to deliver chemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapy to treat cancer.
Garrett and Slavin called the center’s opening the first tangible step in the clinical and strategic oncology partnership that deepens both organizations’ commitment to expanding access to care and delivering the highest quality throughout the region.
Expanding oncology services is one such example of how the partnership is bringing additional expertise to the community, they said.
“This is a good example of how we can really bring the clinicians together from both organizations to really manage the cancer population,” Garrett said.
The partnership brings the expertise of Hackensack Meridian Health’s John Theurer Cancer Center, which is part of the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, to the Paterson area.
The partnership means better access to clinical trials and highly subspecialized medical expertise for residents in the Wayne area.
Garrett said the impact of that expertise will be tremendous.
“The John Theurer Cancer Center brings access to over 800 clinical trials,” he said. “And that’s the wave of the future. Over 50% of new cancer patients are on one type of clinical trial or another. That’s how you know we’re getting personalized medicine to produce some really outstanding results and great breakthroughs in cancer that we’ve seen over these last few years.”
Patient navigators will be key in this partnership, as they will guide patients regarding screenings, treatments and clinical trials, when relevant. The partnership will also bring a better quality of care to underserved populations.
Read more from ROI-NJ:
- Partnering for people: How HMH-St. Joe’s agreement will bring top-notch cancer care to underserved communities
- HMH-St. Joseph’s affiliation will increase access to — and quality of — cancer care in Passaic County area
Even more, this state-of-the-art care will come in a state-of-the-art facility.
Previously, cancer patients would have had to travel inside the hospital for treatment — and receive it in an area that didn’t meet the wants and needs of today’s patients, Slavin said.
“This ambulatory facility has been designed with big open areas, large windows and easy access in and out,” he said. “It’s very pleasing for the patient experience and family experience.”
Both Garrett and Slavin credited their teams for coming together to create this center.
“I have to give both teams a tremendous amount of credit because they really had overcome a lot during the pandemic to move this forward,” Garrett said.
Garrett said affiliations such as these are a win-win-win.
“I do think this is the wave of the future,” he said. “We need to find ways where like-minded organizations can collaborate their resources and do what’s right for the community.”
HMH and St. Joseph’s will have more opportunities to do so moving forward.
The partnership has plans to extend into St. Joseph’s Paterson campus and a new location in Totowa, which will open in the first quarter of 2023.
