Kimball Officially Merges with Monmouth Medical Center

On May 19, 2014

Barnabas Health, the state’s largest healthcare and hospital system, announces the official merger of its Long Branch and Lakewood hospitals, as approved by the State of New Jersey.  To reflect the newly merged facilities, the Lakewood hospital will now be called ‘Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus.’  The hospital will be under the ownership of the Long Branch-based teaching hospital, a transaction unanimously approved in January by the Boards of Trustees at both facilities.

As healthcare in America is changing, Barnabas Health says it is transforming to maintain its position as a strong and viable healthcare leader for the future.  This new network of care between Monmouth Medical Centers Northern and Southern Campuses will provide high-quality, efficient healthcare to the communities in the region.  It will also establish a stronger healthcare delivery model for the future and expand outpatient services to better manage the health of the populations served.

“This merger marks a new beginning for Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus,” said Barry H. Ostrowsky, President and Chief Executive Officer of Barnabas Health. “We recognize that a shift in the healthcare industry is occurring across the country. By merging these two hospitals and creating a regionalized, integrated healthcare delivery system in Monmouth and Ocean counties, we’re taking significant steps to change the hospital model in Lakewood with the goal of improving the health status of the community.”

The name change is symbolic of Barnabas Health’s plans to embark on a bold, new vision of creating healthier communities across the state.  In Monmouth and Ocean counties, this will largely be accomplished through the expansion of Monmouth’s specialty outpatient programs that will practice and promote preventative healthcare with the goal of keeping patients healthier and out of the hospital setting.

The expansion of services has already begun in Ocean County. Following the hospitals’ announcement in January, Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus added the following services:

• Outpatient adult and pediatric neurology services
• Outpatient infusion and hematology-oncology services
• A high risk cancer assessment program
• A lung cancer screening and lung nodule follow-up program

Future plans in Ocean County include expanded access to comprehensive sleep services, weight management programs, outpatient cardiology services, and pediatric subspecialty care.

“Across the country we’re seeing declines in inpatient volumes and a growing demand for high quality outpatient services,” Ostrowsky added. “The expansion of these programs is intended to meet that demand and move toward our vision of creating healthier, more vibrant communities.”

Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus will be the region’s only hospital with all private inpatient rooms and will undergo a substantial $11 million renovation project in the coming months. The project will include the reconstruction of every patient room for maximum comfort and convenience.

Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus opened a Geriatric Emergency Medicine (GEM) Unit in January, just weeks after the boards approved the merger proposal. The unit, modeled after the unit at Monmouth Medical Center, has already treated more than 400 patients.

“The concept of the GEM unit is completely different from what you see in traditional Emergency Departments,” said Frank J. Vozos, MD, FACS, President and Chief Executive Officer of Monmouth Medical Center. “Emergency physicians typically treat an acute episode and return patients home once the diagnosis has been made and the patient has been treated. A GEM unit seeks to find the underlying cause of the episode in aging patients. In many cases, we not only treat the episode but identify an underlying issue before it becomes a larger medical problem for the patient.”

Through the merger, both hospitals will retain their individual licenses with separate medical staffs, and a single Board of Trustees will oversee both campuses.  Representatives from Kimball’s Board have joined the Monmouth Medical Center Board. Michael Mimoso will remain the President and Chief Executive Officer of Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus.

“The transformation into Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus is more than a name change,” Mimoso said. “It’s changing the way we deliver care to our patients. Over the coming months, there will be a great deal of growth and progress on our campus. I strongly believe the community is going to benefit from this extraordinary new approach.”

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