Saint Barnabas Medical Center (SBMC), an affiliate of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, is a 597-bed non-profit major teaching hospital located in Livingston, New Jersey. It is the oldest and largest nonprofit, nonsectarian hospital in New Jersey.

History

In 1865, a dedicated group of women known as the Ladies Society of Saint Barnabas House established The Hospital of Saint Barnabas in a private home. Eliza Titus who was the first patient gave her small estate to help in creating the first hospital on McWhorter Street in Newark. On February 18, 1867, The Hospital of Saint Barnabas became the first incorporated hospital in New Jersey by the act of New Jersey Legislature. The hospital was later moved to a larger site on High Street in Newark in 1869. The hospital was called Saint Barnabas Hospital and had been expanding services for many decades.

Between 1950 and 1955 there was discussion of relocating the hospital outside of Newark. Finally, the decision was made to move to Livingston. The new site was purchased in 1956 and the hospital was renamed to Saint Barnabas Medical Center in the same year. The new hospital at the current location was opened on November 29, 1964. Since that day, Saint Barnabas Medical Center has been expanding with opening of new departments and units. In 1982, the Board of Trustees voted to form a multi-corporation healthcare system with the Saint Barnabas Corporation as the parent company which was the beginning of Saint Barnabas Health Care System.

Both Saint Barnabas Medical Center and Saint Barnabas Health Care System continued to grow. In 1996, the Federal Trade Commission approved Saint Barnabas Health Care System to form a statewide health system. The system included eight acute-care hospitals: Saint Barnabas Medical Center; Community Medical Center in Toms River; Irvington General Hospital; Kimball Medical Center in Lakewood; Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch; Newark Beth Israel Medical Center; Union Hospital; and Wayne General Hospital. The system later expanded to include Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville, West Hudson Hospital in Kearney and Wayne General Hospital. However, Wayne General Hospital subsequently changed to affiliate with another organization, Irvington General Hospital were later owned by City of Irvington, and Union Hospital was closed in 2007.

Saint Barnabas Medical Center currently treats about 40,000 inpatients and over 65,000 Emergency Department patients per year. The Medical Center and the Saint Barnabas Ambulatory Care Center, also in Livingston, provide treatment and services for about 300,000 outpatient visits annually.

Departments and Centers

There are dozens of departments and centers of specialties within Saint Barnabas Medical Center. A few examples are The Saint Barnabas Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery, The Cancer Centers, Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, The Comprehensive Stroke Center at Saint Barnabas, and The Joint Institute. A few notable departments and centers are:

Obstetrics and Gynecology

The department Obstetrics and Gynecology is well known in the state of New Jersey. It delivers about 7,000 babies annually. The department is designed as a regional perinatal center for high risk pregnancies. The 56-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit has eight full-time neonatologists during the day, at least two newborn specialists at night, and more than 100 NICU nurses.

The department also formed the nation's first hospital-affiliated program with a a private cord blood bank, LifebankUSA, to encourages patients to bank or donate the material for research.

The Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science

Founded in 1995, the Institute provides fertility treatment to patients as well as conducting research in the field. It is one of the nation's largest fertility centers.

The Institute has been the pioneer in fertility research. Dr. Jacques Cohen, an embryologist of the Institute, discovered a technique called the cytoplasmic transfer in 1996 in which the contents of a fertile egg from a donor are injected into the infertile egg of the patient who has undergone unsuccessful attempts of IVF along with the sperm.

The institute is also the first develop a test to detect chromosome translocations in human embryos to increase the success rate and avoid genetic disorder. The work received the general Program Prize of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in 1996. Another PDG work on aneuploidy also received the prize paper of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology in 1998

Other research areas at the Institute include oocyte cryopreservation, embryo cryopreservation, micromanipulative procedures to improve embryo development and implantation, and embryo selection protocols.

The research achievements from the Institute received both praise and criticism. The works have raised some concerns about ethical issues in this field including a possibility that a child may have genes from more than two adults and the usage of human embryos.

Renal and Pancreas Transplant Division

The Renal and Pancreas Transplant Division at Saint Barnabas Medical Center and Newark Beth Israel Medical Center combined is one of the most active transplant programs in the United States with more than 270 cases annually making them one of the 15 founding members of Coalition of Major Transplant Centers (MTC).

The division performed the first paired kidney exchange in New Jersey at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in 2005. Over time, it has performed many kidney transplants and exchanges including complex multihospital kidney exchanges.

The division also provides education programs such as the first live kidney transplant operation broadcast to a public audience in the UK at Dana Centre in 2007.

Burn Center

The Burn Center at Saint Barnabas was established in 1977. It is the only certified burn treatment facility in New Jersey and the only center in New Jersey that meets the verification criteria of the American Burn Association. The center is equipped to treat pediatric through geriatric burn patients with 12-bed intensive care unit, 18-bed burn step-down unit, and two hydrotherapy suites. Outpatient department provides specialized burn care for patients who do not require hospitalization. The center treats 400 patients annually.

The center also provides education and outreach programs through sponsorship from Saint Barnabas Burn Foundation which was established in 1987. Free clinical education programs are prehospital care, emergency department & hospital programs, and nursing school program. Community outreach programs include classroom programs designed to enhance science and health curriculum, juvenile firesetter intervention program, and a mobile trailer that recreates a home environment to educate children about fire safety.

The Burn Center and its staff were discussed in the book titled After the Fire: A True Story of Friendship and Survival by Robin Gaby Fisher – a Pulitzer Prize finalist in a story about the survival of the two most burned victims in the Seton Hall fire in 2000.

Residency

Saint Barnabas Medical Center offers residency in Anesthesiology, Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Neurosurgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Radiology, Pathology, Podiatry, and Otolaryngology/Facial Plastic Surgery with more than 150 positions. The Medical Center is affiliated with New Jersey Medical School in Newark, New Jersey; St. George’s University in St. George's, Grenada; and New York College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Ranking

Saint Barnabas Medical Center was ranked the 13th best hospital in the United States by AARP Modern Maturity Magazine for quality of care for adults at acute care hospitals in major metropolitan areas. It also received high scores for its specialties from U.S. News & World Report: the 2nd highest score in New Jersey for Neurology and Neurosurgery; the 3rd highest score in New Jersey for Kidney disease; and the 4th highest score in New Jersey for Cancer, Gynecology, and Urology. In 2009, HealthGrades – a leading independent healthcare ratings organization – ranked Saint Barnabas Medical Center high in women's health quality with one of only 15 hospitals nationwide to earn both the Women's Health and Maternity Care Excellence Awards for 2009/2010.

Notable Achievements

• In 1997, the world's first baby was born as a result of cytoplasmic transfer performed by The Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science of Saint Barnabas Medical Center.

• In June 2004, Saint Barnabas Medical Center delivered a 23-week-old twin boy with weight of 320 grams. The boy was hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for five months. He was one of the smallest premature births in New Jersey to survive. He also holds the record as one of the world's smallest boys known to survive.

• In January 2009, Dr. Stuart Geffner performed the world's first all-robotic kidney transplant at Saint Barnabas Medical Center. The same team performed eight more fully robotic kidney transplants in the six-month period after the first.

• In March 2009, Saint Barnabas Medical Center, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital performed the world's second multihospital six-way kidney transplant chain. The first was performed by The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City four weeks earlier.

References

1. Our History, Saint Barnabas Medical Center - accessed July 11, 2009
2. Irvington hearing on $85 million budget scheduled for Monday, the Star-Ledger, April 25, 2009 - accessed July 11, 2009
3. NJ residents worried about hospital closings, The Star-Ledger, February 20, 2008 - accessed July 11, 2009
4. About The Medical Center, SBMC - accessed July 11, 2009
5. Saint Barnabas Health Care System, Phoenix Medical Construction - accessed July 11, 2009
6. Saint Barnabas Medical Company Description, Hoovers - accessed July 11, 2009
7. Maternal Child Pavilion - Neonatology, Saint Barnabas Medical Center - accessed July 11, 2009
8. Saving for baby's future includes a vital deposit, Scripps Newspaper Group - accessed July 11, 2009
9. RESEARCHERS SAY EMBRYOS IN LABS AREN'T AVAILABLE, NY Times, , August 26, 2001 - accessed July 11, 2009
10. Daniel A. Potter, Jennifer S. Hanin, Pamela (FRW) Madsen, What to do when you can't get pregnant, 2005, p.228
11. Santiago Munne, INCIID - accessed July 18, 2009
12. Research at the Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science at Saint Barnabas, IRMS - accessed July 11, 2009
13. WORLD'S First Robotic Assisted Kidney Transplant Performed At Saint Barnabas Medical Center, SMBC Press Release, June 6, 2009 - accessed July 11, 2009
14. Major Organ Transplant Centers Announce New Coalition, Medscape Medical News, January 14, 2000 - accessed July 11, 2009
15. First Paired Kidney Exchange in New Jersey Performed, Family Health Magazine, Spring/Summer 2006 - accessed July 11, 2009
16. First live broadcast of kidney transplant, scenta, February 05, 2007 - accessed July 11, 2009
17. Scalds: A Burning Issue, Association for Children of New Jersey - accessed July 11, 2009
18. BURN CENTER VERIFICATION, American Burn Association
19. The Burn Center at Saint Barnabas - Burn Services, St. Barnabas Medical Center - accessed July 11, 2009
20. Saint Barnabas Burn Foundation - accessed July 11, 2009
21. After the Fire: A True Story of Friendship and Survival, www.bn.com - accessed July 17, 2009
22. Graduate Medical Education at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, Saint Barnabas Medical Center - accessed July 11, 2009
23. 2007 Press Releases - AARP Modern Maturity Magazine,Saint Barnabas Medical Center - accessed April 25, 2009
24. Best Hospitals Search,U.S. News & World Report, - accessed April 25, 2009
25. Saint Barnabas Medical Center grades high in women’s health and maternity care, New Jersey Newsroom, July 2, 2009 - accessed July 11, 2009
26. Designer Babies - Human cloning is a long way off, but bioengineered kids are already here, Washington Monthly, March 2002 - accessed July 11, 2007
27. World's first genetically altered babies born, CNN, May 5, 2001 - accessed July 11, 2009
28. Smallest Baby to Survive in New Jersey--Second Smallest in the Nation--Arrives Home in Time for Thanksgiving - accessed July 11, 2009
29. Infant heading home after underweight birth, The Times of Trenton, August 16, 2007 - accessed July 11, 2009
30. The Tiniest Babies, The University of Iowa - accessed July 14, 2009
31. New Robot Technology Eases Kidney Transplants, CBS News, June 22, 2009 - accessed July 8, 2009
32. Kidney donations connect strangers in Chain of Life forged by transplants, The Star-Ledger, June 05, 2009 - accessed July 11, 2009
33. JOHNS HOPKINS LEADS FIRST 12-PATIENT, MULTICENTER DOMINO DONOR KIDNEY TRANSPLANT, Johns Hopkins Medicine, February 16, 2009 - accessed July 11, 2009

External links

• Saint Barnabas Medical Center
• The Burn Center at Saint Barnabas
• The Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science
• Saint Barnabas Health Care System