Monmouth Medical Center

Coordinates: 40°17′44.66″N 73°59′8.40″W / 40.2957389°N 73.9856667°W

Monmouth Medical Center
Established 1887
Type Regional medical center
Location Long Branch, New Jersey, U.S.
Campus Urban
Website http://www.barnabashealth.org/Monmouth-Medical-Center.aspx

Monmouth Medical Center, in Long Branch, Monmouth County, New Jersey, is one of New Jersey’s largest community academic medical centers and is an academic affiliate of Philadelphia’s Drexel University College of Medicine. It provides Post-graduate education via several medical residencies in addition to serving as a location for some of Drexel University's Medical clerkships. Monmouth is Drexel’s largest major academic medical affiliate in New Jersey. It is also part of the larger Barnabas Health.

History

Monmouth Medical Center is a not-for-profit, 527-bed, regional tertiary care teaching hospital located in Long Branch, New Jersey. Monmouth’s service area represents a population of nearly 1 million year-round residents in Monmouth, and portions of Ocean and Middlesex counties in addition to the large population of tourists who are visiting. Admissions total more than 19,000 annually, and emergency visits total nearly 43,000 a year. Annual outpatient clinic visits top 126,000.

The Unterberg Children's Hospital at Monmouth Medical Center

As its wide scope of pediatric services clearly reflects, The Unterberg Children’s Hospital at Monmouth Medical Center offers care for children and families with a breadth and depth unrivaled throughout the region.

Monmouth offers comprehensive care in virtually every area of pediatric medicine - delivered from the first fragile days of life through adolescence in a family-friendly environment. As a dedicated children’s hospital and a teaching affiliate of the prestigious Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, the team of pediatric specialists in virtually every area of children’s health, works together to deliver the best solutions for the most complex health problems- around the clock. They are known for innovative treatments, advanced technologies, life-saving care, and unsurpassed dedication to the children and families served.

That dedication involves more than superior medical treatment and expert physicians. It means supporting patients and families in large and small ways, to ease their anxiety and reduce their stress from the moment they arrive through our doors. It’s knowing the difference between Sponge Bob and Bob the Builder to bring a smile to a child’s face. And taking the time with families to explain, to educate, and to offer help, while respecting privacy, diversity, and each family’s unique strengths.


History

In January 2006, Monmouth Medical Center was recognized for its long-demonstrated strength in pediatrics and was licensed by New Jersey as an official children’s hospital for Monmouth and Ocean counties.

Around 1887, an epidemic struck Long Branch, leaving eight children from poor families sick and in need of care. With no hospital in the area, local businessmen rented four rooms over a Broadway storefront to care for the children - an act that laid the foundation for what is now Monmouth Medical Center.

The first mention of a special area devoted to the care of children appeared in the hospital’s 1904 annual report, and the first mention of a pediatrician highlights Lester D. Wise, M.D., as chief of pediatrics in the 1920 annual report. By 1923, Dr. Wise was joined by Stanley Nichols, M.D., and they are both reported to have worked in the Dispensary Department for the Children’s Clinic.

In 1934, Dr. Nichols became one of the first child specialists in the country to be certified by the newly created American Board of Pediatrics. Under his direction, the elements of the pediatric program were specified by the time the Borden Memorial Pavilion was built in 1940. Dr. Nichols served as chief of pediatrics from 1935 until his death in 1949, at which time the Dr. Stanley Nichols Branch of the hospital auxiliary was formed to support pediatric projects.

As the hospital flourished in the 1940s with an influx of patients and philanthropy, physicians began to treat a new and frightening disease called polio. A summer disease, polio hit the Long Branch area - with its influx of summer visitors - especially hard. Patients, primarily children, occupied the entire pediatrics unit and often numbered close to 100.

It was then that Monmouth gained international renown for its polio treatment, developed under the leadership of Dr. Nicholas Ransohoff from curare, a relaxant drug used in ancient times. The volume of polio patients reached its peak in 1949, with patients traveling to Monmouth from other states and even overseas.

Today, Monmouth continues its pattern of excellence by providing renowned medical expertise that only a leading academic medical center can offer, with 140 pediatric specialists in 26 fields of medicine.

The Regional Newborn Center opened its doors in 1968, making Monmouth the first hospital in New Jersey and the first community hospital in the country to establish a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

In its first 10 years, the RNC treated 4,000 infants in the critical early days of their lives. Today, Monmouth’s state-designated Level III NICU treats more than 550 infants each year for conditions such as prematurity, low birth weight, acute life-threatening illnesses and congenital disorders, as well as providing delicate surgeries.

In 2006, the RNC was selected as a Regional Program of Quality for Perinatal Services by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, becoming one of just 14 hospitals throughout New Jersey to be recognized for its care of high-risk mothers and newborns.

With one of the highest infant survival rates among NICUs in the country, Monmouth’s neonatal care team consists of neonatologists, nurses, respiratory therapists and other highly-skilled medical professionals who work together to provide high-quality care in an environment conducive to healing.

Departments and Centers

The Leon Hess Cancer Center

The Leon Hess Cancer Center at Monmouth Medical Center stands at the forefront of providing the most extensive array of highly advanced cancer services, delivered by a multidisiplinary team of specialists in a caring and supportive environment. For decades, Monmouth Medical Center’s leadership role in oncology services has been broadened through the ongoing expansion of state-of-the-art programs and technologies offered in all areas of cancer prevention, detection and treatment. The Leon Hess Cancer Center at Monmouth brings together a host of specialists in a convenient setting to offer comprehensive cancer services.

Monmouth Medical Center is accredited by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons as a "teaching hospital cancer center" — the group's highest designation. And because a thorough analysis of the outcomes of diagnosis and treatment is crucial to outstanding care, Monmouth Medical Center offers a cancer registry that analyzes the cancer center’s significant patient volume. The Leon Hess Cancer Center Cancer Registry maintains detailed information on each cancer incidence, treatment and outcome.

Naming Monmouth Medical Center’s multidisciplinary cancer center in honor of the late philanthropist Leon Hess has special significance for his “extended” prominent New Jersey family, as well as for Monmouth Medical Center.

Before the founder of energy giant Amerada Hess Corp. died in 1999, he established the New York-based Hess Foundation, which today is led by Mrs. Leon (Norma) Hess, the sister-in-law of the late Jacqueline M. Wilentz — after whom Monmouth’s breast center is named. Jacqueline, who died of breast cancer, was the wife of Mrs. Hess’ brother — Robert Wilentz, former chief justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, who also lost his life to cancer.

In addition, the late Lester A. Barnett, M.D., former chief of surgery at Monmouth, was a childhood friend of Leon Hess — a relationship they retained through adulthood as the Hesses maintained a summer residence in Long Branch.

Throughout his life, Dr. Barnett played an instrumental role in supporting fund-raising efforts for Monmouth, particularly for the expansion of cancer services. He died in April 2002, shortly after he helped make possible the extraordinary $3 million gift from the Hess Foundation.

The Neuroscience Institute

At The Neuroscience Institute at Monmouth Medical Center, world-class specialists in Neurology and Neurosurgery provide the region’s only comprehensive, multidisciplinary programs for treatment of brain, spine, and neuromuscular conditions. The expertise and accomplishments in these areas are unmatched in Monmouth County, and are on par with large academic medical centers.

For more than 15 years, neurologists, neurosurgeons and neuroradiologists have provided patients with advanced brain tumor treatment, utilizing state-of-the-art technologies, including gamma knife, and brain mapping.

Working as a team with neuro-oncologists and radiation oncologists, patients with brain cancer and cancers of the central nervous system have access to the best available therapies and the most promising clinical trials, right here in New Jersey. The Neuroscience Institute's interdisciplinary spine programs provide expert care from neurologists, neurosurgeons and orthopedic specialists. And dedicated centers for stroke, spasticity and dystonia, epilepsy, and neuromuscular conditions including ALS/Muscular Dystrophy are among New Jersey’s best. From pediatric neurology through geriatric care including dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease, the Institute offers outstanding clinical care, rehabilitative care, and the supportive programs that New Jersey’s patients and families need.

Monmouth Neuroscience Center provides expert care from a world-class team of specialists in neurology, neurosurgery, neuroradiology, and neuro-oncology right here in Monmouth County. Our comprehensive services offer patients unparalleled expertise and the most advanced care for all diseases of the brain and spine.

Joint Replacement and Spine Center

Monmouth Medical Center Total Joint Replacement and Spine Center provides world-class care and treatment options to patients who have experienced the pain and limitation of permanent and progressive damage to hips, knees, shoulders and the spine. Whether the patient's pain is due to osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, trauma, or other joint or spine disorders, they will find life-changing relief under the care of Monmouth’s highly experiened board-certified, fellowship trained orthopedic and spine specialists.

The comprehensive, coordinated Total Joint Replacement Program and dedicated Spine Center deliver unparalleled expertise—led by surgeons who have performed thousands of joint replacement and spine procedures with the lowest infection rates and lowest mortality rates in New Jersey.

With a dedicated joint replacement and spine team of specially trained and certified nurses, physicians, therapists and experts in pain management and rehabilitative care, patients will receive highly customized treatment designed to deliver long-term success. The Center's Clinical Patient Navigator will guide and coordinate every step of care, from evaluation and pre-operative education through discharge, so patients can focus on healing and getting back to the things they enjoy.

Accreditation and awards

Monmouth Medical Center is accredited with commendation by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and is a member of the Council of Teaching Hospitals of the Association of American Medical Colleges. The Dental medicine residency is accredited by the American Dental Association. All other residencies are accredited by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

The hospital was recently recognized as a Distinguished Academic Medical Center among an elite group of the nation’s nine leading teaching hospitals, by Press Ganey. Additionally, Monmouth Medical Center had recently earned a ranking on Solucient 100 Top Hospitals – Performance Improvement Leaders award, recognizing Monmouth Medical Center for its clinical outcomes and patient safety. In 2006, the Department of Radiology received recognition in the publication Medical Imaging as a runner-up for "Best Freestanding Imaging Center or Group".[1]

Education

In 1945, Monmouth established its first residency program – in orthopedics – to meet the needs of physicians returning from World War II trained in treating battlefield trauma.

Half of the residents enter practice after graduation, while the others enter some of the most competitive fellowships in the United States. Today Monmouth has 110 residents in nine accredited residency programs.

Graduate medical education

Monmouth University Medical Scholars

This program allows incoming Freshman of Monmouth University a track directly tailored toward Medical School. Students are pre-selected, enter a rigorous Pre-medical, undergraduate course of study and are guided by way of special advisors and preceptors at Monmouth Medical Center. If successfully completing the program with desired GPA and MCAT scores, they are ensured acceptance at Drexel University College of Medicine.[2]

The campus

Monmouth Medical Center covers 21 acres (85,000 m2), two blocks from the Atlantic Ocean, in Long Branch. The hospital’s main building comprises 16 wings that occupy a total of 735,000 square feet (68,300 m2), in addition to 16 other buildings totaling 185,100 square feet (17,200 m2). These include apartments for resident physicians, a privately operated day care center, Ronald McDonald House, and a professional and educational building.

The Altschul Medical Library

Located within the hospital, this collection serves as the major information resource for the faculty, residents and students in the Department of Medical Education and staff of Monmouth Medical Center. The Library houses 4000 monographs, 7000 reels of microfilm, 2000 bound volumes, and subscribes to 300 journals.

The Library is a member of the Central Jersey Regional Library Cooperative and National Network of Libraries of Medicine. It participates in the National Library of Medicine Docline and has interlibrary loan arrangements with 100+ hospitals and universities throughout New Jersey.

Monmouth Medical Center Foundation

This organization, started in 1982, is a volunteer group that fundraises through various functions to help provide charitable care to the community it serves.[3]

References

  1. ↑ The Best of the Best | January 2006: The MI Industry Top 10 | Medical Imaging
  2. ↑ Monmouth University: Medical Scholars
  3. ↑ Monmouth Medical Center Foundation

External links