Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital: Medically Necessary Medically Necessary

March 2021 is a special month at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at RWJUH! Over the past 20 years, we've seen our pediatric program grow from small units spread out all over the hospital to a full, specialized acute care hospital with subspecialists able to treat a wide range of illness -- offering New Jerseyans the ability to get their kids' care close to home.

This week, Dr. Sally Radovick, Chief of Pediatrics at RWJUH, Chair of Pediatrics at Rutgers RWJMS, and Physician-in-Chief at BMSCH, and Barbara Romito, Director of Child Life at RWJUH/BMSCH, join Dr. Jim Salwitz and Chris Hoenig to look back at the growth of BMSCH and look ahead to the next 20 years.

As Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) begins to transition out of the second surge of COVID-19, we're doing it with a transition in hospital leadership.

This week, RWJUH Interim President & CEO Bill Arnold joins Dr. Jim Salwitz and Chris Hoenig to discuss his observations since joining the hospital in December, as well as how important the clinician voice will be as we move forward.

Last year, RWJBarnabas Health launched the 'Ending Racism, Together' initiative, a corporate commitment to building a diverse, equitable, antiracist organization to better serve our communities and our patients.

This week, Celeste Warren --the Vice President of the Diversity & Inclusion Center of Excellence at Merck, member of the RWJBH Board of Trustees, and Chair of the Board's Ending Racism Together committee -- sits down with Dr. Jim Salwitz and Chris Hoenig to provide an inside look at the foundation of this drive and what to expect in the coming months.

Construction fencing is up around the former Saint Peter's High School across the street, meaning work is underway on the new 12-story, 510,000 sq. ft. cancer pavilion that will be the flagship cancer hospital of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ), Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, and RWJBarnabas Health.

This week, Dr. Steven Libutti, Director of Rutgers CINJ and Senior Vice President of Oncology Services for RWJBH, sits down with Dr. Jim Salwitz and Chris Hoenig to discuss how this building will be more than just a hospital, offering a wide array of services to cancer patients throughout the area.

One of the nation's founding Infection Preventionists, Pat Lafaro, has spent the past six years as the Director of Infection Prevention here at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) in New Brunswick. After 26 years as the Director of Infection Prevention at Somerset Medical Center, Pat joined RWJUH as Ebola peaked public health concerns. Now, as the nation moves through vaccinating people in an effort to end the COVID-19 pandemic, Pat is calling time on her career and looking forward to retirement at the end of this month. Pat and incoming RWJUH Director of Infection Prevention Michele Pedrani sit down with Dr. Jim Salwitz and Chris Hoenig to talk about the field and how COVID-19 has shaped its future.

Then, Dr. Enrique Pantin, a member of our anesthesia team at RWJUH and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS), joins the program to preview the anesthesia museum he curates, which is now on display in the cases outside of Same Day Surgery at RWJUH. From some of the earliest masks and monitoring equipment, to anesthesia machines and key people and moments in anesthesia history, Dr. Pantin brings memorabilia and fun facts on the field for all to see and hear. You can learn more about the Anesthesia Museum here: https://anesthesiamuseum.wordpress.com/

March is coming, which is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. And several recent journal articles highlight the steady rise in early-onset colorectal cancer among the African-American community. But will last year's death of SAG Award-winning actor Chadwick Boseman help raise awareness and lead to an increase in early screening? Colorectal surgeon Dr. Nell Maloney Patel and oncologist Dr. Kristen Spencer from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) join Dr. Jim Salwitz and Chris Hoenig to discuss.

Then, a recent video from the RWJUH Foundation highlights how exceptional work and advanced procedures that are done at a fraction of hospitals nationally feel like everyday life here at RWJUH. Dr. Leonard Lee, Chief of Surgery and star of the new "A Day In The Life Of A Cardiac Surgeon" video, and Zoey Kramer, the Manager of Events and Communication at the RWJUH Foundation, join the program to share their experiences in creating the video.