Bob Garrett on Healthcare in NJ and the Physician Shortage

Robert Garrett, CEO, Hackensack Meridian Health, talks about the state of healthcare in New Jersey and what the state’s first medical school can do to help combat the physician shortage in NJ.

5/20/17 #110

 

 

 

 

Excerpt:

"Welcome to State of Affairs. I'm Steve Adubato. We are coming to you from the Agnes Varis Studio here at NJTV. We are welcoming Robert Garrett, co-Chief Executive Officer, Hackensack Meridian Health. Good to see you Bob. Good to see you Steve. Not much happening in the healthcare world, huh? No, nothing at all. [laughter] And nothing in the news. Nothing going on. By the way, talk about this... the partnership, the merger had happened when exactly? Our merger, Hackensack University Health Network and Meridian Health merged July 1st, so we're nine months old as a new organization. And a lot's happened in those nine months. We've made great progress on a lot of fronts. So we're excited. Excited about the future of our organization. And in spite of what you hear about healthcare, we're excited about the future of healthcare. A new brand just came out? It did. We launched it last week with a reception for all of our leaders at the NJPAC in Newark. And our brand can be best described as well orchestrated. We're a well orchestrated organization. You know, a organization that plans and executes really well. So we thought a great place for the launch would be an orchestra. You know, a site for famous orchestras. Which was the NJPAC. And if you look at our new logo here, it... there's a center to it, with a hole that looks like kind of an orchestra hit, with the orchestra surrounding it. So a lot of symbolism around it. But we're excited about what the brand really represents. Which is really bringing health and care together. Because as a healthcare organization today, it's not just about delivering care. It's also about keeping the population healthy. To disclose, I've worked with a fair number of physician leaders and others within the Hackensack Meridian system, doing communication coaching seminars over the years. I know the system quite well. Bob, I want to ask you this. One of the things that has made the news is... talk about... it's not really a "merger" but it's a collaboration, a partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering. It is obviously... talk about brands? Mm hmm. A cancer institution that's got an incredible reputation. What is the partnership? And why does it matter? We are incredibly excited about the partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. So it is taking two great brands, putting them together, but most importantly we think it's gonna transform how cancer care is delivered in our state. How? So... Give us an example? So how it's gonna work is it's... there's really two parts the way I look at it. There's eleven existing cancer centers, ambulatory cancer centers, in the Hackensack Meridian Network, all..."