CONSTRUCTION PROGRESSES ON ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL SOMERSET’S VERTICAL EXPANSION PROJECT

SOMERVILLE, NJ, March 4, 2024 – Construction is more than 75 percent complete on Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) Somerset’s 76,000-square-foot vertical expansion project, the most significant construction project on the hospital’s campus since 2007. The two-story addition will include its Orthopedic Center of Excellence, a 35-bed inpatient unit featuring all-private rooms and a rehabilitation gym. It will also house a 10-room Rapid Decision Unit for Emergency Department patients who require additional observation.

Deirdre Blaus, Vice President of Operations, RWUH Somerset, right, shows Somerville Mayor Brian Gallagher, left, the progress on the construction of the hospital’s new vertical expansion project.

About 100 hospital community supporters, donors, physicians and employees got a sneak peek at the progress on the project during a recent hard hat tour and open house coordinated by Somerset Health Care Foundation, the hospital’s fundraising arm.

“This expansion will transform the care that we are able to provide to our patients,” said Patrick Delaney, chief administrative officer, RWJUH Somerset. “Moving our orthopedic unit to this new facility will enable us to make more of our patient rooms throughout the hospital private, which will enhance patient satisfaction and promote healing. The Rapid Decision Unit will help reduce wait times in our Emergency Department and offer greater comfort for our patients and their families.”

Construction began on the vertical expansion with the raising of the first steel beam in December 2022. The final steel beam for the framework of the structure was raised in February 2023. The structure is now fully enclosed as work continues on the interior. A bridge connecting the new pavilion to the main hospital building is also two-thirds complete. Construction work is expected to finish this fall and the facility will open to patients by early 2025.

“We are extremely grateful for the continued support of our community which enables us to provide the latest medical technologies and advanced treatments in state-of-the-art facilities such as this,” said Donna Castronovo, vice president, of Somerset Health Care Foundation. “Together, we are making a difference in the health of Somerset County.”

Photo #6: L to R: Hospitalist Jaya Singh, MD, a member at-large of RWJUH Somerset’s Medical Executive Committee; Kiran “Perry” Kothari, co-vice chair, Somerset Health Care Foundation Board of Trustees; Paul Hubert, chair, Somerset Health Care Foundation Board of Trustees; and hospitalist Narinder Dhillon-Athwal, MD, secretary-treasurer, RWJUH Somerset Medical & Dental Staff.

For more information about RWJUH Somerset, visit www.rwjbh.org/somerset.

About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset

Located in Somerville, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) Somerset, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, is a nationally accredited, 339-bed regional hospital providing comprehensive emergency, medical/surgical, behavioral health and rehabilitative services to central New Jersey residents. As a designated teaching hospital of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, the hospital maintains a family medicine residency program with 21 residents.

RWJUH Somerset has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety including the prestigious Magnet® Award for Nursing Excellence. As the first hospital in New Jersey to offer primary health care services for the LGBTQIA community, RWJUH Somerset has been honored as a Leader in LGBT Healthcare Equality by the Human Rights Campaign.

The Steeplechase Cancer Center at RWJUH Somerset has been designated as a Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer. RWJBarnabas Health and RWJUH Somerset in partnership with Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey - the state's only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center - bring a world class team of researchers and specialists to fight alongside you, providing close-to-home access to the latest treatment and clinical trials.

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