Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center Unveils State-of-the-Art Patient Pavilion to Transform Campus

PR Newswire

HACKENSACK, N.J., June 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center, the flagship hospital of New Jersey's most comprehensive and integrated health network, is transforming its campus with the construction of a new, state-of-the-art patient pavilion along Second Street in Hackensack, New Jersey. With a gross square footage of 530,000 square feet (438,000 usable sq. ft.), the building will feature nine floors of cutting-edge technology and a superior design to provide patients and families with world-class acute care, while enhancing comfort and privacy.

"This large-scale, innovative project will truly transform the Hackensack University Medical Center campus, preparing us to effectively meet the growing needs of our patients and the communities we serve," said Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health. "As Bergen County's first hospital and the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in the state, Hackensack University Medical Center has always been setting the standard for excellence in health care. This is a major investment to elevate our best-in-class health care services and modernize our facilities to ensure we are providing patients the world-class, cutting-edge care they deserve."

Hackensack University Medical Center is prioritizing the enhancement of the patient experience and will privatize and modernize all patient rooms over the next 10 years. The new pavilion, dedicated to improving patient care, is the first step in that process and will feature 24 new operating rooms, new and improved Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds, as well as three floors of private patient rooms. In addition, the building will include:

New Second Street entrance/visitor lobby
A visitor center
A new central sterile processing department
24 operating rooms including an intraoperative MRI
50 ICU beds
Shell space for an additional 25 ICUs
100 medical-surgical beds
50 bed Orthopedic Institute

"This innovative project reflects our network's deep commitment to better serving the needs of patients and families," said Gordon N. Litwin, Esq., chair, Hackensack Meridian Health Board of Trustees. "This new pavilion will provide an enhanced patient experience, while preserving the privacy, respect and dignity our patients and families deserve. Our patients are at the heart of the work we do, and we will continue to pursue groundbreaking initiatives that advance the network's world-class, patient- and family-centered care well into the future."

Hackensack University Medical Center is the primary teaching site for the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University. Hackensack University Medical Center's renovation, expansion and modernization plans will ensure its campus will be able to accommodate the growing needs of the region and continue operating at the highest standards. The new pavilion, which spans Second Street, will become the largest building on campus.

"This is a significant moment for Hackensack University Medical Center. With our innovative, new pavilion, we are elevating the standard of health care not only in New Jersey, but across the country," said Ihor Sawczuk, M.D., regional president, northern market, Hackensack Meridian Health. "Hackensack University Medical Center will celebrate its 130^th anniversary this year, and I am confident that with these transformational changes, we will be well-positioned to successfully serve this community and the region for another 130 years."

"This project reflects Hackensack University Medical Center's ongoing commitment to successfully meet the needs of the entire region to provide superior highly complex, tertiary and quaternary care," said Mark D. Sparta, FACHE, president and chief hospital executive of Hackensack University Medical Center and executive vice president, population health, Hackensack Meridian Health. "As the delivery of health care has advanced and the complexity of surgery has changed, there is a critical need for more physical space to effectively deliver high-quality care. This new pavilion will ensure Hackensack University Medical Center remains on the forefront of patient care with cutting-edge operating rooms and modern patient accommodations."

RSC Architects of Hackensack is the lead architect partnered with EYP Architects of Houston, Texas. The RSC/EYP team provides extensive expertise in the design of healthcare facilities, including projects with Hackensack University Medical Center and Hackensack Meridian Health, supplemented by an intimate knowledge of the local market. The team was selected through a competitive bidding process. During the design process, the team collaborated with physicians, administrators, and team members to ensure optimal workflow was incorporated into the final design. Stantec Consulting is providing project management services/Owner's representative services for the overall project. The W.M. Blanchard and Turner Construction Company have created a joint venture to provide construction management services for the project.

Hackensack University Medical Center is the largest employer in Bergen County with more than 8,000 employees. It will continue to maintain 781 beds even after this project is completed.

Construction on the project is expected to begin this summer with 2022 projected as the opening. A surface lot near campus will be used to address parking accommodations. Efforts to relocate utilities and infrastructure in the Second Street courtyard will begin immediately.

About Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center
Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center, a 781-bed nonprofit teaching and research hospital located in Bergen County, NJ, is the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in the state. Founded in 1888 as the county's first hospital, it is now part of one of the largest networks in the state comprised of 34,000 team members and more than 6,500 physicians. Hackensack University Medical Center was listed as one of the top two hospitals in New Jersey in U.S. News & World Report's 2018-19 Best Hospital rankings. It was also named one of the top five New York Metro Area hospitals. Hackensack University Medical Center is one of only five major academic medical centers in the nation to receive Healthgrades America's 50 Best Hospitals Award for five or more years in a row. Becker's Hospital Review recognized Hackensack University Medical Center as one of the 100 Great Hospitals in America 2018. The medical center is one of the top 25 green hospitals in the country according to Practice Greenhealth, and received 25 Gold Seals of Approval™ by The Joint Commission – more than any other hospital in the country. It was the first hospital in New Jersey and second in the nation to become a Magnet® recognized hospital for nursing excellence; receiving its fifth consecutive designation in 2014. Hackensack University Medical Center has created an entire campus of award-winning care, including: the John Theurer Cancer Center; the Heart & Vascular Hospital; and the Sarkis and Siran Gabrellian Women's and Children's Pavilion, which houses the Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital and Donna A. Sanzari Women's Hospital, which was designed with The Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center® and listed on the Green Guide's list of Top 10 Green Hospitals in the U.S. Becker's Hospital Review named the medical center one of America's greenest hospitals in 2018 as well as one of 100 hospitals and health systems with great orthopedic programs/2018. Hackensack University Medical Center is the Hometown Hospital of the New York Giants and the New York Red Bulls and is Official Medical Services Provider to THE NORTHERN TRUST PGA Golf Tournament. It remains committed to its community through fundraising and community events especially the Tackle Kids Cancer Campaign providing much needed research at the Children's Cancer Institute housed at the Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital. To learn more, visit www.HackensackUMC.org.

About Hackensack Meridian Health
Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care.

Hackensack Meridian Health comprises 17 hospitals from Bergen to Ocean counties, which includes three academic medical centers – Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, JFK Medical Center in Edison; two children's hospitals - Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital in Hackensack, K. Hovnanian Children's Hospital in Neptune; 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, and Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood; a behavioral health hospital – Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead; and two rehabilitation hospitals - JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison and Shore Rehabilitation Institute in Brick.

Additionally, the network has more than 500 patient care locations throughout the state which include ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, fitness and wellness centers, rehabilitation centers, urgent care centers and physician practice locations. Hackensack Meridian Health has more than 34,100 team members, and 6,500 physicians and is a distinguished leader in health care philanthropy, committed to the health and well-being of the communities it serves.

The network's notable distinctions include having four hospitals among the top 10 in New Jersey by U.S. News and World Report. Other honors include consistently achieving Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and being named to Becker's Healthcare's "150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare/2018" list.

The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University, the first private medical school in New Jersey in more than 50 years, welcomed its first class of students in 2018 to its On3 campus in Nutley and Clifton. Additionally, the network partnered with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to find more cures for cancer faster while ensuring that patients have access to the highest quality, most individualized cancer care when and where they need it.

Hackensack Meridian Health is a member of AllSpire Health Partners, an interstate consortium of leading health systems, to focus on the sharing of best practices in clinical care and achieving efficiencies.

For additional information, please visit www.HackensackMeridianHealth.org.

Hackensack Meridian Health (PRNewsfoto/Hackensack Meridian Health)