PRINCETON – The New Jersey Hospital Association, the state’s oldest and largest healthcare trade association, today held its annual awards program to honor several individuals and organizations for their commitment to New Jersey’s patients and communities.
The awards were presented during NJHA’s 101st Annual Meeting at the Hyatt Regency Princeton. The program included the presentation of the Healthcare Leader awards, which recognize the distinguished service of healthcare executives, trustees and clinicians, along with the Excellence in Quality Improvement Awards and Community Outreach Awards.
NJHA Healthcare Leader Awards
NJHA’s 2020 Distinguished Service Award was presented to John DiAngelo, of Mullica Hill, president and CEO of Inspira Health. DiAngelo has dedicated more than three decades to the healthcare industry, including two of those at Inspira Health. He became president and CEO of Inspira in 2014, and recently announced his retirement at the end of 2020.
As CEO, he has expanded Inspira’s access to health consumer to more than 150 sites, and spearheaded Inspira’s recently opened state-of-the-art medical center in Mullica Hill, as well as its adjacent cancer center. DiAngelo has propelled the network forward with Inspira’s Innovation Center to accelerate the development and implementation of leading-edge, patient-focused technologies, as well as a $1 million Innovation Fund to assist in potential startup funding of new programs or scaling current innovations.
In his tenure as CEO, Inspira has provided more than half of a billion dollars in community benefit in just the past five years. He has spearheaded multiple initiatives to combat opioid addiction in South Jersey and became a founding partner of the Cumberland County Housing First Collaborative, which housed 50 chronically homeless individuals in its first year.
The 2020 Healthcare Professional of the Year award was presented to Meena S. Murthy, MD, FACE, of Princeton, chief of the division of endocrinology, nutrition and metabolism; director of the Thyroid and Diabetes Center and director of the South Asian Institute at Saint Peter's University Hospital.
Dr. Murthy is dedicated to the causes of education and empowerment of individuals with diabetes and is a strong messenger and advocate for prevention of chronic disease and population health. Dr. Murthy took the lead in partnering with the Shri Krishna Nidhi Foundation in developing the South Asian Diabetes Education and Resource Center at the Saint Peter’s South Asian Institute, a comprehensive prevention program providing education, screening, referral and support.
Dr. Murthy also co-hosts the medical talk and call-in show Heartbeat on South Asian EBC Radio/WWTR 1170 AM, where she further generates awareness of early detection and prevention of diabetes and other chronic conditions among the South Asian community.
The NJHA Trustee of the Year award was presented to Marc E. Berson, of Millburn, Chairman of the Corporate Board of Trustees for RWJBarnabas Health. Berson is a longtime board member in the RWJBarnabas Health System, including more than 18 years spent as Chairman of the Board of Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and The Children’s Hospital of New Jersey.
Berson is the founder and chair of The Fidelco Group, a private investment owner-developer of residential, commercial, retail and industrial properties, and has used his expertise in support of the continued revitalization of the City of Newark. Born at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, his professional career and commitment to philanthropic impact in Newark have grown together.
He is also the founder of Opportunity Project, Inc., a not-for-profit organization aiding in the rehabilitation and empowerment of people with brain injuries.
NJHA awarded two Special Recognition awards, commemorating the achievements of two pillars of the New Jersey healthcare community: Richard D. Keenan, of Wyckoff, executive vice president and chief financial officer for Valley Health System, and Gordon N. Litwin, Esq., of Little Silver, partner at Litwin & Provence, LLC, and chairman of the Hackensack Meridian Health Board of Trustees.
Keenan came to The Valley Hospital in 1973 as assistant controller and was made its CFO in 1974. In addition to being the financial lead for Valley Health System, which includes The Valley Hospital, Valley Home Care and Valley Medical Group, he successfully led the team charged with securing the financing for a new hospital in Paramus that will serve the residents of northern New Jersey for decades to come.
Since 1992, Litwin has at various times chaired the boards of Riverview Medical Center, Meridian Health and played a key role in the merger of Hackensack Meridian Health. Litwin also served as a member of the NJHA Board of Trustees. During his time as the system’s Chair, Hackensack Meridian Health merged with Carrier Clinic and JFK Health. Litwin also was an active member in forming the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University and serves on its board as secretary.
NJHA Excellence in Quality Improvement Awards
NJHA, through its Institute for Quality and Patient Safety, also honored one acute care and one post-acute provider for Excellence in Quality Improvement, in recognition of the healthcare organization’s tremendous advances in quality improvement and patient safety.
St. Luke’s Warren Campus addressed its growing concerns about C. difficile, an antibiotic-resistant infection of the digestive system, with a unique series of staff education tools. The “Stomping out Spores” team addressed root causes of the spread of the infection, then implemented an interactive education experience called “Room of Horrors” that demonstrated the importance of hand hygiene, personal protective equipment, proper cleaning of equipment and cross-contamination prevention.
In addition to the novel interactive experience, the Stomping out Spores team created a specimen collection tool to help staff understand how to handle potentially contagious lab samples, as well as offered “wisdom walks” where the team provides education to staff that usually work during nights and weekends. The program has prevented an estimated 22 C. difficile infections and eliminated $500,000 in healthcare costs in two years.
Programs for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) are federal programs designed to provide medical and social care in community settings to individuals who would otherwise need to live in long-term care settings. As a PACE organization, Inspira LIFE utilized its ability to consistently interact with patients to implement a program improving medication compliance among the diabetic population.
Among its achievements, Inspira LIFE implemented a two-year study with 37 patients to help them better manage their diabetes. Ninety-one percent of these patients achieve a blood glucose level within the desired range in 2019. By eliminating hospitalizations for diabetes-related issues Inspira LIFE improved the health of these individuals and also saved an estimated $1.2 million in preventable healthcare costs.
HRET Community Outreach Awards
NJHA and its Health Research and Educational Trust of New Jersey recognize organizations that identify community needs and implement programs to serve those needs. These programs are just a few examples of the more than $3 billion in community benefits that New Jersey hospitals provide annually. The 2020 awards recognized achievements in the following categories: behavioral health resiliency; reducing disparities; and social determinants of health.
In the category of behavioral health resiliency, Hackensack Meridian Health Carrier Clinic was recognized for its work expanding access and innovating treatment options for people with mental illness and substance use disorders.
The newly formed partnership is a pioneer in providing urgent care medically integrated with behavioral health, offering people dealing with mental health issues an opportunity to walk-in for care at any time.
Combining patient-centered care in unison with community-based initiatives and integrated leadership has resulted in the construction of a system of compassionate care that is helping to break through the stigma associated with mental illness.
In the category of reducing disparities, the Virtua Health Foundation, Inc. was recognized for the Virtua Pediatric Mobile Service program, which provides free services to children in underserved and impoverished communities in South Jersey. Practitioners provide services such as dental and developmental screenings, flu vaccinations and referrals to specialized services in settings where children ordinarily participate and are most convenient to families.
Since its June 2018 launch, Virtua Pediatric Mobile Service has reached more than 1,800 children in 50 community partner locations throughout Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties.
In the category of social determinants of health, Saint Peter’s University Hospital and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital were recognized for their combined efforts to improve living conditions in New Brunswick through the Healthy Homes Project. The Healthy Homes Project uses a cross-sector approach to ensure that all New Brunswick residents live in safe homes that facilitate healthy living.
Four local Community Health Ambassadors have visited 130 unique homes, encompassing 785 individuals, providing educational materials, workshops, home assessments and connecting residents to services to promote healthy living conditions.
NJHA, based in Princeton, is a not-for-profit trade association that helps hospitals and other healthcare providers deliver quality, accessible and affordable healthcare. Its affiliates the Health Research and Educational Trust of New Jersey and the NJHA Institute for Quality and Patients Safety, also nonprofit, engage in programming and partnerships to improve healthcare quality and access.
