Hospital Launches $290M Expansion/Renovation

The project, slated to be completed in about three years, will add a new patient care pavilion with all-private rooms, a new diagnostic and treatment building, a new unit dedicated to cardiac patients, a new emergency department and trauma center, expanded parking, access improvements and general, extensive renovations. The property is owned by Meridian Health, which also owns and operates Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, NJ and Ocean Medical Center in Brick, NJ.

Specifically, the new 213,000-sf Northwest Pavilion will house the expanded emergency and trauma facilities. Three floors will be built out as a new 36-bed all-private nursing unit, with a fourth floor shell for potential future expansion. Situated in 12-bed "neighborhoods," the new nursing units will incorporate a new "magnet" nursing model with enhanced services.

"Less than 3% of the nation's hospitals qualify for 'magnet' designation, which recognizes the highest standards of nursing," says Dr. Richard Hader, senior vice president of nursing and chief nursing officer for Meridian health. "This care model and evidence-based design creates a better healing environment."

North of the medical center's existing Mehandru Pavilion, the project will add a new 109,000-sf diagnostic and treatment pavilion with a half-dozen new surgical suites, as well as a shelled intensive care unit. A new 975-car parking garage will also feature a rooftop heliport. And renovations throughout the existing facility will include an expanded ambulatory care center.

Located on Route 33 in this Monmouth County community, JSUMC has been in existence for more than a century. It's also an affiliate of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, part of the state medical/dental school system.