Saint Barnabas Medical Center

In 1865, a dedicated group of women known as the Ladies Society of Saint Barnabas House established The Hospital of Saint Barnabas in a private home. Eliza Titus who was the first patient gave her small estate to help in creating the first hospital on McWhorter Street in Newark. On February 18, 1867, The Hospital of Saint Barnabas became the first incorporated hospital in New Jersey by the act of New Jersey Legislature. The hospital was later moved to a larger site on High Street in Newark in 1869. The hospital was called Saint Barnabas Hospital and had been expanding services for many decades.

Between 1950 and 1955 there was discussion of relocating the hospital outside of Newark. Finally, the decision was made to move to Livingston. The new site was purchased in 1956 and the hospital was renamed to Saint Barnabas Medical Center in the same year. The new hospital at the current location was opened on November 29, 1964. Since that day, Saint Barnabas Medical Center has been expanding with opening of new departments and units. In 1982, the Board of Trustees voted to form a multi-corporation healthcare system with the Saint Barnabas Corporation as the parent company which was the beginning of Saint Barnabas Health Care System.

Both Saint Barnabas Medical Center and Saint Barnabas Health Care System continued to grow. In 1996, the Federal Trade Commission approved Saint Barnabas Health Care System to form a statewide health system. The system included eight acute-care hospitals: Saint Barnabas Medical Center; Community Medical Center in Toms River; Irvington General Hospital; Kimball Medical Center in Lakewood; Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch; Newark Beth Israel Medical Center; Union Hospital; and Wayne General Hospital. The system later expanded to include Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville, West Hudson Hospital in Kearny and Wayne General Hospital.[3] However, Wayne General Hospital subsequently changed to affiliate with another organization (Saint Joseph's Healthcare System), Irvington General Hospital was later owned by City of Irvington,[4] and Union Hospital was closed in 2007.[5] Alongside the hospital's cafeteria for eating, there was once a McDonald's restaurant at the end of the cafe corridor but since has been replaced with a wrap and sandwich eatery. In 2011, the Saint Barnabas Health Care System was renamed to Barnabas Health.[6]

Saint Barnabas Medical Center currently treats about 35,000 inpatients and close to 90,000 Emergency Department patients per year. The Medical Center and the Saint Barnabas Ambulatory Care Center, also in Livingston, provide treatment and services for about 300,000 outpatient visits annually.[7]

In May 2015, construction began on a $250 million renovation and expansion of the center.[8] In July 2015, Stephen P. Zieniewicz, FACHE, former executive director of the University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC) in Seattle, Washington, was named president and chief executive officer.[9]

In 2015, Barnabas Health and Robert Wood Johnson Health System signed an agreement which outlines the merger between these two health systems. Once complete, the transaction will create New Jersey’s largest health care system and one of the largest in the nation. The New Jersey Attorney General must review the deal before it is official, with the expectation that the merger will be completed in 2016.[10] On March 30, 2016, the two health systems officially merged and formed RWJBarnabas Health.[11]

There are dozens of departments and centers of specialties within Saint Barnabas Medical Center. A few examples are The Saint Barnabas Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery, The Cancer Centers, Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, The Comprehensive Stroke Center at Saint Barnabas, and The Joint Institute.

Departments and centers include:

Saint Barnabas Medical Center offers residency in Anesthesiology, Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Neurosurgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Radiology, Pathology, Podiatry, and Otolaryngology/Facial Plastic Surgery with more than 150 positions.[32] The Medical Center is affiliated with New Jersey Medical School in Newark, New Jersey; New York College of Osteopathic Medicine and St. George’s University in St. George's, Grenada.

Saint Barnabas Medical Center was ranked the 13th best hospital in the United States by AARP Modern Maturity Magazine for quality of care for adults at acute care hospitals in major metropolitan areas.[33] It also received high scores for its specialties from U.S. News & World Report: the 2nd highest score in New Jersey for Neurology and Neurosurgery; the 3rd highest score in New Jersey for Kidney disease; and the 4th highest score in New Jersey for Cancer, Gynecology, and Urology.[34] In 2009, HealthGrades – a leading independent healthcare ratings organization – ranked Saint Barnabas Medical Center high in women's health quality with one of only 15 hospitals nationwide to earn both the Women's Health and Maternity Care Excellence Awards for 2009/2010.[35]

• In 1997, the world's first baby was born as a result of cytoplasmic transfer performed by The Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science of Saint Barnabas Medical Center.[36][37]
• In June 2004, Saint Barnabas Medical Center delivered a 23-week-old twin boy with weight of 320 grams. The boy was hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for five months.[38][39] He was one of the smallest premature births in New Jersey to survive. He also holds the record as one of the world's smallest boys known to survive.[40]
• In January 2009, Dr. Stuart Geffner performed the world's first all-robotic kidney transplant at Saint Barnabas Medical Center. The same team performed eight more fully robotic kidney transplants in the six-month period after the first.[41]
• In March 2009, Saint Barnabas Medical Center, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital performed the world's second multihospital six-way kidney transplant chain.[42] The first was performed by The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City four weeks earlier.[43]