RWJBarnabas Health and CHOP will collaborate on research and recruitment of specialists.
TRENTON -- The reach of New Jersey's largest hospital chain is expanding again, this time to include a partnership with the renowned Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, top officials announced Thursday.
RWJBarnabas Health President and Chief Executive Officer Barry H. Ostrowsky and Madeline Bell, president and CEO for what is commonly known as CHOP, issued a statement saying their "alliance" will give them more power to recruit the best specialists, and collaborate on research efforts with the help of Rutgers University.
RWJBarnabas Health President and Chief Executive Officer Barry H. Ostrowsky. The two parties will take at least six months to map out their business plan, which is likely to include the addition of outpatient medical practices in central and north Jersey, Ostrowsky said.
"The public will see CHOP's name on inpatient facilities, all pediatric care rendered will be in affiliation with CHOP," he said.
The partnership is beneficial to both parties, with RJW Barnabas bringing its deep market share of 5 million people central and north Jersey, and CHOP bringing its reputation as being one of the leading children's hospitals in the country, if not the world, he said.
"Combining our three highly recognized children's hospitals, pediatric rehabilitation hospital and outpatient pediatric services with the outstanding reputation for excellence of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia will bring the very finest pediatric care to families in the entire region," Ostrowsky said.
Since the completion of last year's merger, RWJBarnabas includes 11 acute-care hospitals with a workforce of 32,000 employees, in addition to 9,000 physicians, and 1,000 residents and interns. It is the second-largest private employer in New Jersey behind Wakefern Food Corporation, the owner of ShopRite.
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Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, founded in 1855, is the nation's first pediatric hospital and boasts of having one of the largest research programs in the nation.
"Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and RWJBarnabas Health are two prestigious healthcare providers whose philosophy of care focuses on the delivery of world-class clinical services as close to the patient's home as possible," Bell said. "This approach to pediatric care would benefit thousands of families in the area and we are delighted to explore this new alliance."
The alliance fits the RJWBarnabas' pattern of fast-paced growth.
In October, Ostrowsky told NJ Advance Media he was negotiating a "unique partnership" between RWJ Barnabas Health, the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the New Jersey Medical School that would make them a research powerhouse. The hospital chain will invest hundreds of millions of dollars for the endeavor in order to lure high-profile researchers from other institutions and boost the amount of funding the university receives from the National Institutes of Health. They also expect to recruit more medical students to train in these hospitals, and put pioneering research into practice.
A launch is expected by July 1, he said.
Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.