Introducing Rutgers Health

April 6, 2016

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 below, or visit the Rutgers Health website to learn more: www.rutgershealth.org.

Sincerely,

Robert Barchi