Barnabas Health, RWJ Health System to Merge
WEST ORANGE, N.J. — Barnabas Health and Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Health System, two leading health systems in New Jersey, have agreed to merge, creating the state’s largest health system and one of the largest in the nation. The new organization will be known as RWJ Barnabas Health and could bring in revenues of more than $4.5 billion.
The agreement has gone to the New Jersey Attorney General for review, with the expectation that the merger will be completed in 2016. At that time, RWJ Barnabas Health will see more than 260,000 inpatient admissions, 2 million outpatient visits, nearly 700,000 emergency department visits, 23,000 births, nearly 30,000 employees, 9,000 physicians and 1,000 residents and interns. The new system will be comprised of 11 acute care hospitals, three children’s hospitals, a pediatric rehabilitation hospital, a behavioral health center, ambulatory care centers, and five fitness and wellness centers.
Barnabas Health is already the largest nonprofit integrated health care delivery system in New Jersey and one of the largest in the region with more than 2 million patient visits and delivery of more than 20,000 babies annually. The system includes seven acute care hospitals across the state. The RWJ Health System has four acute care hospitals across New Jersey and has a 1,733-bed system.
Health organization leaders are hoping the combined system, with shared cultures and core values, will provide greater opportunity to improve the health and promote wellness among communities throughout the state. The new system’s geographic footprint will span Hudson, Essex, Union, Middlesex, Mercer, Somerset, Monmouth and Ocean Counties.
“The new health system will comprise effectively every clinical service from primary to quaternary and greatly strengthen our commitment to medical education and research,” said Barry H. Ostrowsky, president and chief executive officer of Barnabas Health, in a statement. “The merger also will provide a large enough geography to be appropriate for the migration to population health management.”
“We are excited to move forward with this historic merger agreement which will offer the diverse communities in New Jersey expanded access to the best in academic medicine and community-based care,” added Stephen K. Jones, president and chief executive officer of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and RWJ Health System, in a statement.
Transition teams have been formed to begin planning for combining the two systems. Under the terms of the agreement, Ostrowsky will serve as the inaugural president and chief executive officer of RWJ Barnabas Health. Jones will serve as chief academic officer in the Office of the President, leading efforts to further strengthen the relationship between the new entity and its academic partner, Rutgers University. The board of trustees representation will be evenly divided between the two organizations.
“Because our organizations have a shared vision for how health care should be delivered and our traditional service areas are complementary, we anticipate a smooth transition process,” said Jack Morris, chair of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Board of Directors, in a statement.