Rutgers Health Formed

[Sir ScarletKnight]

I'll be frank, I have no idea what this is compared to what exists.

Members of the Rutgers Community:

In a year when our community celebrates its historic roots, today we are taking the first steps toward a truly revolutionary approach to health care.

This afternoon the Board of Governors approved the establishment of Rutgers Health, the clinical arm of the University that will, when implemented, include all the outward-facing clinical care elements throughout Rutgers. As these elements come together and we build upon our affiliations with hospitals and providers in the region, Rutgers Health will take its place as one of the largest academic health care provider organizations in the nation, benefiting many hundreds of thousands of patients. And unlike most academic health systems, which focus solely on traditional fields such as surgery, cardiology, and oncology, Rutgers Health will also support dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, physician assistants, and clinical psychology, as well as social work and student health services, and other health professions.

Under the leadership of Dr. Brian Strom, our Executive Vice President for Health Affairs as well as the Chancellor of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, Rutgers Health will be developed as an interprofessional center of excellence that connects our research, education, and clinical care operations to the evolving health care needs of those we serve. Through Rutgers Health we will be able to achieve our vision of providing the citizens of New Jersey and the surrounding states with the very best, state-of-the-art clinical care, access to cutting-edge therapies focused on their specific problems, and access to research-tested approaches to maintaining wellness as well as treating their diseases. Rutgers Health is more than just a clinical practice: it is a knitting together of all the elements of health care policy, research, and the provision of care into one identifiable brand that can translate into the best care. In it we realize the full promise of our integration of the former University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey into Rutgers.


Health care in America is undergoing significant change, and the creation of Rutgers Health will position us as an innovator and leader in this increasingly complex and competitive environment. As we look to the future, it is clear that the best health care will be provided by teams—including nurses, physicians and dentists, pharmacists, social workers, psychologists, other Rutgers providers, and providers in the community. Rutgers Health will leverage the best talents of our more than 1,000 health care professionals in these areas to help people get well and stay well through consistent, coordinated, value-based health care. Working together with our health system partners, we will emphasize patient wellness and set a goal of preventing people from getting sick rather than waiting until they get sick to treat them.

Board approval of Rutgers Health, which has been in development since Dr. Strom arrived at Rutgers, will enable us to move forward with a multiyear implementation, including the formation of a single Rutgers Health Group practice and establishment of the Rutgers Health Network with affiliated hospitals and health care providers in the community. Rutgers Health Group will be a multi-specialty, multi-professional faculty practice that will be a nonprofit subsidiary of the University. The Rutgers Health Network will integrate Rutgers Health Group with affiliated hospitals, community practices, and clinical groups in what will function as a clinically integrated network, or CIN, and help us reach across the entire state.

It will take time to ramp up to full strength, but I foresee a day in the not-too-distant future when people will look to Rutgers Health as one of the premier networks of health care delivery in the country—and one of the most powerful translators of new knowledge in health care to the betterment of our citizens’ health and wellness.

You will be hearing much more about Rutgers Health in the coming months as we develop each of its components. You can watch a short video regarding this initiative at or visit the Rutgers Health website to learn more: www.rutgershealth.org.

Sincerely,

Robert Barchi

 

[srru86]

New Jersey Business
Rutgers University to Create Rutgers Health

 

[El Curioso Impertinente]

It's a brilliant move by Barchi. One that expands opportunities for Rutgers students, especially those in the Professional Schools.

Additionally creates increased opportunities for research, and revenues streams to the University to fund this research.

This is the type of Synergy found at elite institutions. Most importantly, increases the power of the brand name, Rutgers. Well Done. Dr. Barchi. Well Done, indeed.

 

[pmvon]

Can you expand on the implications? Listened to the video and read the article but don't appreciate what it really means.

Were we doing this before but we are just formalizing a process? Does it create a new business effectively though non profit? If so, increased revenue?

 

[El Curioso Impertinente]

Can you expand on the implications? Listened to the video and read the article but don't appreciate what it really means.

Were we doing this before but we are just formalizing a process? Does it create a new business effectively though non profit? If so, increased revenue?

For example, let's say you're a Medical Student, with an interest in Sports Medicine, thanks to this program, the pathway now exists.

Or an undergrad that wants to do a start-up based on a nutraceutical that you want to develop, now there's a pathway.

Maybe you're a Company, and you want to fund research at Rutgers in order to help with your product, that process has now been streamlined.

Could you have done this before, perhaps, but now it's streamlined and optimized.

 

[pmvon]

Thx, barchi was the right man at the right time

 

[Scarlet Pride]

Thx, barchi was the right man at the right time

Unfortunately too many people on these boards view Rutgers as a sports franchise so they think he's a terrible president. (Which even from a sports perspective is wrong in my opinion)

 

[HeavenUniv.]

This sounds like a REALLY big move. Is this the medical equivalent of Rutgers Athletics getting into the Big Ten ?

 

[Upstream]

It sounds like this is a move to put all the Rutgers healthcare organizations and affiliate organizations under one umbrella and a single patient-facing brand.

Johns Hopkins did something similar about 20 years ago with the creation of Johns Hopkins Medicine, an overarching umbrella for independent health care research and delivery entities affiliated with Johns Hopkins University or Johns Hopkins Hospital.

It will be interesting to see if Rutgers Health follows the model of Johns Hopkins Medicine. But that would require participation from RWJ Barnabas to be truly impactful across the state.

 

[pmvon]

Just a thought but the Health title is more aligned with current thinking than Medicine. Probably talked about the appropriate name.

 

[scarlet letter]

Does anyone know the difference between Rutgers Health and the RWJ/Barnabas program that was just announced?

 

[Upstream]

Does anyone know the difference between Rutgers Health and the RWJ/Barnabas program that was just announced?

RWJ/Barnabas is the merger between two hospital systems (RWJ and Barnabas). These hospital systems are not part of Rutgers University.

I think a lot of people are confused that RWJ is part of Rutgers. Although Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (not part of Rutgers) and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (part of Rutgers) are both named after Robert Wood Johnson, and both received significant funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, they are separate entities. The hospital is the primary teaching hospital for the medical school, and the hospital buildings are connected to the medical school buildings in New Brunswick, but they are separate legal entities. When Rutgers first took over UMDNJ, the cafeteria in the academic building sold Pepsi (since Rutgers had a contract with Pepsi) and the cafeteria in the hospital building sold Coke.

Certainly the hospital plays off its position as the primary teaching hospital for the medical school and its close relationship with Rutgers (currently they have a commercial talking about the importance of the bridge between the hospital and the Rutgers Cancer Institute), but the hospital is a separate entity with completely independent management.

The merger of the RWJ and Barnabas hospital systems doesn't make the other hospitals affiliates of Rutgers (although some Barnabas hospitals do currently have some clinical affiliation with Rutgers).

Right now, as far as I can tell, the establishment of Rutgers Health only covers the multiple medical research and clinical entities that are part of Rutgers. As I mentioned above, to be truly impactful, the Rutgers Health umbrella would also need participation from RWJ Barnabas. Like the Hopkins model, the university and hospitals would still be separate entities with their own management, but the umbrella would provide a framework for much higher cooperation and a unified patient-facing brand.

 

[scarlet letter]

Thanks - very helpful.

 

[srru86]

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EXPLAINER: WHAT RUTGERS NEW HEALTH SYSTEM MEANS TO MEDICAL CARE IN NJ