Jersey Shore University Medical Center Celebrates Grand Opening of HOPE Tower

$265 million investment in state-of-the-art outpatient facility features leading-edge cancer center, physician and medical specialties, and academic and research space

Hackensack Meridian Health Jersey Shore University Medical Center celebrated the grand opening of HOPE Tower, a 10-story, 300,000-square-foot facility, in a ceremony with more than 300 community members in attendance, including Hackensack Meridian Health leadership, team members and elected officials last evening. The $265 million state-of-the-art facility, located on the east side of the hospital's campus in Neptune, features a world-class cancer treatment center, modern clinical offices for pediatric and adult specialties, and high-tech academic and research space, creating a groundbreaking outpatient facility that focuses on all aspects of health and wellness.

“At Jersey Shore University Medical Center, we are cultivating a culture of compassion, focused on providing high-quality care and enhancing the patient experience,” said Kenneth N. Sable, M.D., MBA, FACEP, president of Jersey Shore University Medical Center and K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital. “HOPE Tower expands upon Jersey Shore’s services, serving as a hub of clinical excellence while elevating the human experience. We are continuing to bring humanity back to health care, putting our patients at the center of everything we do.”

HOPE Tower represents a new Healing OutPatient Experience, where advanced technology and unsurpassed medical expertise is combined in a stunning facility that has been designed with patient convenience, easy access and peace of mind as core elements in care delivery.  “The new tower will foster a new healing outpatient experience for the communities we serve, setting the bar for the next generation of care,” notes Dr. Sable.

“Hackensack Meridian Health is committed to transforming health care through innovation and education, with HOPE Tower leading the way in providing cutting-edge care, an exceptional patient experience, and novel learning,” said Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, co-CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health. “HOPE Tower, designed to support medical education, research and clinical care, is the embodiment of our core mission to deliver high-quality family- and patient-centered care, world-class education, and tomorrow’s research.”

The first two levels of the tower is a 58,000-square-foot state-of-the-art cancer center, designed with patients’ needs in mind. The warm and welcoming layout is intended to treat the whole person as well as the disease, offering patients cancer diagnosis, consultation and treatment planning with multidisciplinary teams, all under one roof. In addition, the new center offers the latest in technology and treatment options, including dedicated areas for infusion, radiation therapy with the most advanced TrueBeam™ linear accelerators, counseling and supportive care, all in one convenient location. The new cancer center is also part of Hackensack Meridian Health’s historic partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, transforming cancer care for communities across Monmouth and Ocean counties.

“This world-class outpatient facility is a perfect setting for cancer patients, giving them access to highly trained surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and clinical trials, all under one roof. This encourages collaboration and a multidisciplinary approach to better serve our patients,” said Thomas L. Bauer II, M.D., FACS, thoracic surgeon and clinical medical director of oncology for Hackensack Meridian Health.

HOPE Tower also brings together a wide range of pediatric and adult physician and medical specialties across several floors of the facility.  The pediatric specialties housed in the tower include gastroenterology, endocrinology, infectious disease, neurology and hematology/oncology. The adult specialties are internal medicine, psychiatry and behavioral health, infectious disease, rheumatology, endocrinology, uro-gynecology, obstetrics and gynecology, maternal/fetal medicine, and surgery.

“By putting so many specialists and resources in one location, we are truly redesigning our approach to patient care. Care coordination is so important in delivering the most comprehensive and innovative treatment plans for our patients,” added Dr. Bauer.

HOPE Tower also serves as a home to Jersey Shore’s medical education programs and research services.  The new facility houses team members involved in research and clinical trials, and supports patients who are participating in trials with high-tech exam rooms for treatment and evaluation.

HOPE Tower features a 6,500+ square foot, state-of-the-art innovative simulation laboratory. The lab fosters experiential and simulation-based learning with an emphasis on patient safety, quality, innovation and patient interaction.

“The integration of simulation-based and experiential learning into interdisciplinary education programs builds upon Hackensack Meridian Health’s continued commitment to leadership in health care education,” said Dr. Sable.

On the 10th floor of HOPE Tower is a conference center, featuring the John K. Lloyd Amphitheater. It is a 200-seat theater-style auditorium that includes the latest audio-visual technology with the ability to stream live broadcasts and record sessions. The conference center provides a state-of-the-art meeting space to host a variety of educational, clinical and community events.

“This is a significant moment for Jersey Shore University Medical Center that has been years in the making. HOPE Tower is a culmination of more than a decade of hard work, perseverance and partnership with the community,” said John K. Lloyd, co-CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health.  ”This groundbreaking facility builds upon a longstanding tradition of health care excellence and will help us meet the growing needs of our patients, families and the communities we serve. We have truly created a remarkable health care landscape in this region.”

U.S. News & World Report ranked Jersey Shore University Medical Center the 4th best hospital in New Jersey and 11th best hospital in the New York metropolitan area in 2017. Jersey Shore University Medical Center is the region’s only academic university-level teaching center.

“HOPE Tower demonstrates our deep commitment to this community. We have made a significant investment in innovation and first-class physicians, nurses and team members, to provide high-quality health care services that our patients deserve close to home,” said Dr. Sable. HOPE Tower is slated to open the first four levels at the end of the month, and phase in the opening of the upper levels by the end of the summer.

About Hackensack Meridian Health

Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the 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 16 hospitals, including three academic medical centers, two children's hospitals and nine community hospitals, two rehabilitation hospitals, physician practices, more than 160 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, and urgent care facilities. Hackensack Meridian Health has 33,000 team members, more than 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 one of only five major academic medical centers in the nation to receive Healthgrades America's 50 Best Hospitals Award for five or more consecutive years, four hospitals ranked among the top 10 in New Jersey, including Hackensack University Medical Center, the No. 1 hospital, Jersey Shore University Medical Center at No. 4 and Ocean and Riverview Medical Centers tied at No. 8., as ranked by U.S. News and World Report. Other honors include consistently achieving Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, recipient of the John M. Eisenberg Award for Patient Safety and Quality from The Joint Commission and the National Quality Forum, a six-time recipient of Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For," one of the "20 Best Workplaces in Health Care" in the nation, and the number one "Best Place to Work for Women." 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.