Long Branch and Tinton Falls, N.J.– October 15, 2024 –Monmouth Medical Center (MMC), an RWJBarnabas Health facility, raised the final beam at the Specialty and Cancer Care Pavilion at the Vogel Medical Campus on October 8, marking a significant milestone in the system’s commitment to bring care closer to where people live, work and play across Monmouth County.
“Monmouth Medical Center is, without question, a special place. It’s the best of the best when it comes to quality and a culture of kindness and respect,” said Mark E. Manigan, President and Chief Executive Officer of RWJBarnabas Health. “You can feel the compassion, comradery and connection to the community – it’s palpable. That is what makes Monmouth Medical Center feel like home, and that’s what will make the Specialty and Cancer Care Pavilion feel like home as well.”
Hospital and system leaders, staff, patients and community partners celebrated the occasion through beam signing events held across the county. On Sept. 25 and 26, more than 1,000 employees at MMC’s Long Branch campus added their signatures to the beam and shared their excitement before it was returned to the Vogel Medical Campus construction site.
“Lifting the final beam into place at the Specialty and Cancer Care Pavilion at the Vogel Campus, like the nearly 2,000 placed before it, serves far beyond structural support of a building,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Eric Carney. “In partnership with Rutgers Cancer Institute, this beam symbolizes the future of outstanding care in Monmouth County that is made possible by the hard work and dedication of MMC staff, physicians, and nurses and the support of our trustees, community partners and state, county and local government officials.”
MMC employees sign the final steel beam at Monmouth Medical Center’s Long Branch campus before placement atop the Specialty and Cancer Care Pavilion building under construction at the Vogel Medical Campus in Tinton Falls.
In 2023, MMC broke ground on the five-story, 150,000-square-foot Specialty and Cancer Care Pavilion, which will provide comprehensive same-day surgery, on-site specialty physician offices and advanced diagnostic imaging to patients throughout Monmouth County.
The facility will also offer patients state-of-the-art comprehensive cancer care provided in partnership with Rutgers Cancer Institute – the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center – with access to innovative treatment options, including precision medicine, cellular therapies, clinical trials and care informed by the latest research, all in one convenient location.
“It is critical that cancer patients receive the best care possible close to home,” said Steven Libutti, MD, FACS, Director of Rutgers Cancer Institute and Senior Vice President of Oncology Services for RWJBarnabas Health. “RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Cancer Institute are at the forefront of cancer research and care, and now, the transformational discoveries, clinical practice, services and support we’re known for will be available for patients right here in their community.”
Philanthropist Sheldon Vogel signs the final steel beam of the Specialty and Cancer Care Pavilion at the Vogel Medical Campus in Tinton Falls.
As MMC and RWJBarnabas Health leaders joined with community partners and elected officials to sign and raise the physical beam into place, they celebrated both the expansion of care across Monmouth County, as well as the organization’s continued commitment to the City of Long Branch.
“While we are expanding our ability to care for more patients throughout the county and beyond, we are proud to continue serving our communities along the shore,” said Bill Arnold, Executive Vice President and Southern Region President for RWJBarnabas Health. “Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch has been the hub of care for our communities since 1887, and our commitment to Long Branch is unwavering.”
Construction crew members place the final beam in the Specialty and Cancer Care Pavilion at the Vogel Medical Campus in Tinton Falls
The beam raising also featured entertainment from Tommy Meares – a renowned musician and grateful Monmouth Medical Center patient. Like Tommy, community members throughout Long Branch and Monmouth County have relied on Monmouth Medical Center’s high-quality care for over 100 years, and this new facility will serve as the next chapter in the medical center’s legacy.
Grateful patient and renowned musician Tommy Meares plays “God Bless America” on the trombone as the construction crew prepares the beam to be raised.
The Specialty and Cancer Care Pavilion is essential to MMC’s efforts to meet the changing needs of the diverse and growing communities across Monmouth County. The organization will formally welcome patients to receive care at the facility in 2026.
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ABOUT MONMOUTH MEDICAL CENTER
Monmouth Medical Center, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, along with The Unterberg Children’s Hospital, is a regional teaching campus for Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. As the first hospital in Monmouth and Ocean counties, Monmouth Medical Center offers the most experienced surgeons in robotics and other minimally invasive procedures as well as bariatric and joint and spine surgery. Delivering more babies annually than all other hospitals in Monmouth and Ocean counties combined, Monmouth Medical Center was recently one of nine New Jersey hospitals recognized by Newsweek magazine as a top maternity hospital. The hospital offers access to the region’s top cardiologists and the award-winning, nationally recognized RWJBarnabas Health heart centers. It was the first hospital in New Jersey and the 11th in the country to earn Magnet Recognition with Distinction® from the American Nurses Credentialing as a reflection of its outstanding nursing professionalism, teamwork and superiority in patient care. It is the only hospital in Monmouth and Ocean counties to consistently receive an “A” Hospital Safety Score by The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit organization. RWJBarnabas Health and Monmouth Medical Center, in partnership with Rutgers Cancer Institute — the state’s only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center — brings a world class team of researchers and specialists to fight alongside patients, providing close-to-home access to the latest treatment and clinical trials.
ABOUT RWJBARNABAS HEALTH
RWJBarnabas Health is the largest, most comprehensive academic health care system in New Jersey, with a service area covering eight counties with five million people. The system includes twelve acute care hospitals – Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville, Community Medical Center in Toms River, Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, Jersey City Medical Center in Jersey City, Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset in Somerville, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton in Hamilton, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Rahway in Rahway and Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth, three acute care children’s hospitals, Children’s Specialized Hospital with a network of outpatient pediatric rehabilitation centers, a freestanding 100-bed behavioral health center, two trauma centers, a satellite emergency department, ambulatory care centers, geriatric centers, the state’s largest behavioral health network, comprehensive home care and hospice programs, fitness and wellness centers, retail pharmacy services, affiliated medical groups, multi-site imaging centers and two accountable care organizations.
RWJBarnabas Health is among New Jersey’s largest private employers – with more than 41,000 employees and 9,000 physicians– and routinely captures national awards for outstanding quality and safety. RWJBarnabas Health launched an affiliation with Rutgers University to create New Jersey’s largest academic health care system. The collaboration aligns RWJBarnabas Health with Rutgers' education, research and clinical activities, including those at the Rutgers Cancer Institute - the state's only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center - and Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care. For more information, visit www.RWJBH.org.