The NJ Sharing Network (NJSN) presented St. Joseph’s Health (SJH) with a Silver recognition plaque for its support of and efforts towards increasing awareness of organ donations. The award comes shortly after SJH was acknowledged by the New Jersey Department of Health and Human Services as a leader in organ donations for its organ, eye and tissue donation and registration efforts between June 2014 and May 2015.

According to the Organ Procurement Transplant Network (OPTN) and the NJSN, so far in 2015 St. Joseph’s has had fifteen organ donors resulting in thirty-six lives saved as well as more than 1,400 lives enhanced through tissue and eye donation alone. St. Joseph’s Health, which includes St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, an urban state designated trauma center, is one of the leading donation hospitals in New Jersey. Only less than one percent of deaths nationwide are actually medically suitable to become organ and tissue donors, making this a unique and rare opportunity.

“The NJ Sharing Network is proud to present St. Joseph’s with this Silver recognition for encouraging hospital staff and community members to enroll in their state registry as organ, eye and tissue donors,” said Joseph S. Roth, President and CEO, NJ Sharing Network.

Pictured are, l to r: Joseph S. Roth, President and CEO, NJ Sharing Network; Paula A. Gutierrez, MHA, Hospital Services Manager, NJ Sharing Network; Kevin J. Slavin, President and CEO, St. Joseph’s Health; Alan Sori, MD, Director, Surgical Quality and Surgical Intensive Care Unit, St. Joseph’s University Medical Center (SJUMC); and Karen Magarelli, RN, Director, Critical Care Services, SJUMC.

November 11, 2015

St. Joseph’s Health in Paterson, New Jersey, has announced the appointment of Robert Hood as Vice President of Population Management.

In his role, Mr. Hood will be organizing and preparing both the organization and our physicians to be successful in the rapidly changing environment that is shifting financial risk to the providers.

Mr. Hood has had a distinguished and multi-faceted healthcare career as an executive and consultant working in hospitals, ambulatory care companies, small and large physician practices, as well as hospital physician networks. Most recently Mr. Hood served as Vice President of Network Management NYC and Northeast U.S. for United Health Group/Optum, and President, North American Medical Management (NAMM-IL), where he was responsible for establishing and managing Independent Physician Associations (IPAs) and guiding them through risk arrangements with payers.

Previous roles included working with the Healthcare Advisory Board as a Chief Administrative Officer and Network Coordinator with the 450+ NYC physician group Advantage Care Physicians; Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Essex Valley Healthcare/ East Orange General Hospital; Vice President/ Chief Financial Officer of St. Mary’s Hospital, Passaic, NJ; President of SSM Ambulatory Care and SSM Primary Care (part of the Northwest NJ market for SSM Healthcare Ministries) where he managed the 390 physician Northwest Physician Organization (IPA) and the 50 physician Northwest Medical Group; Senior Vice President of Operations for a $160M imaging company, and Assistant Administrator and later Administrator of Montgomery Hospital (282 bed community hospital and health system in PA).

Mr. Hood is a certified financial planner (CFP) who earned his undergraduate degree in Economics from Rutgers University and his MBA in Health and Hospital Administration from the University of Florida.

An announcement released nationally today by the independent hospital watchdog The Leapfrog Group, shows key shifts among many hospitals on the A, B, C, D and F grades rating them on errors, injuries, accidents, and infections. St. Joseph’s Health hospitals – St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, which includes St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, and St. Joseph’s Wayne Medical Center – each earned top scores of “A” in this elite national ratings program, recognizing St. Joseph’s strong commitment to patient safety. The Hospital Safety Score is the gold standard rating for patient safety, compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading patient safety experts and administered by The Leapfrog Group, a national, independent nonprofit. The first and only hospital safety rating to be peer-reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety, the Hospital Safety Score is free to the public and designed to give consumers information they can use to protect themselves and their families when facing a hospital stay.

“Patient safety is the priority at St. Joseph’s Health and we are proud that both St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, including St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital and St. Joseph’s Wayne Medical Center are recognized with top scores of “A” by The Leapfrog Group for the excellence of the safe, high quality care we provide to our patients,” said Kevin J. Slavin, President and Chief Executive Officer at St. Joseph’s Health.

“As a mission-driven organization and the first four-time Magnet Recognized (for Nursing excellence) Catholic hospital in the nation to fulfill the rigorous requirements of the International Standards Organization (ISO) Quality Management certification, St. Joseph’s Health is fully committed to providing clinically-advanced high quality, safe and compassionate care as we heal the bodies, minds and spirits of all those who turn to us in their time of need,” added Mr. Slavin.

“St. Joseph’s University Medical Center/St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital and St. Joseph’s Wayne Medical Center “A” grades are powerful reminders of St. Joseph’s commitment to putting patient safety above all else, and we are pleased to recognize the persistent efforts of your clinicians and staff to protect your patients,” said Leah Binder, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Leapfrog Group, which administers the Hospital Safety Score. “Our families, neighbors, colleagues and friends deserve a hospital that will pull out all the stops to keep them safe, and we urge St. Joseph’s Health hospitals – St. Joseph’s University Medical Center/St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital and St. Joseph’s Wayne Medical Center and all other “A” hospitals to preserve and renew your commitment to safety year after year.” 

Developed under the guidance of Leapfrog’s Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single A, B, C, D, or F score, representing a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from preventable harm. More than 2,500 U.S. general hospitals were assigned scores in October 2015, with 773 hospitals receiving an A grade. The Hospital Safety Score is fully transparent, offering a full analysis of the data and methodology used in determining grades on the website. Patients can also review their hospital’s past safety performance alongside its current grade on the Hospital Safety Score site, allowing them to determine which local hospitals have the best track record in patient safety and which have demonstrated consistent improvement.

To see St. Joseph’s University Medical Center’s and St. Joseph’s Wayne Medical Center’s full score, and to access consumer-friendly tips for patients and loved ones visiting the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org or follow The Hospital Safety Score on Twitter or Facebook. Consumers can also download the free Hospital Safety Score mobile app for Apple and Android devices. 

October 28, 2015

St. Joseph’s Health (SJH) proudly welcomed Cathleen Bennett, New Jersey’s new acting Commissioner of Health, to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson. Commissioner Bennett was greeted by SJH President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin J. Slavin, who led her on a tour through many of St. Joseph’s state-of-the-art facilities.

Among the locations visited was the newly expanded DePaul Center at St. Joseph’s, a community-based outpatient facility which supports approximately 100,000 patient visits each year. The culmination of five years of planning and construction, the new DePaul Center offers a holistic approach to medical and dental clinic care in a 59,200+ square foot location. Services such as dental and orthodontic services, counseling, education/testing services and a blood laboratory, are now conveniently available at one location across the street from the Regional Medical Center.

Commissioner Bennett also visited additional units within the hospital including the Emergency Department, one of the busiest in the country, and the Same Day Ambulatory Surgery Center, a free standing ambulatory surgery center with the safety and advanced specialties of a hospital-based facility, new in 2015. During the tour, Commissioner Bennett had to opportunity to interact with administrators, physicians, nurses and other support staff.

September 30, 2015