The Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center still hasn’t admitted a patient, but the first free standing cancer hospital in New Jersey already has a success story: An internationally renowned hire.
Dr. Steven Libutti, the William N. Hait director of the Rutgers Cancer Institute and the overseer of the hospital, wouldn’t reveal the name, but he said the doctor was overwhelmed by the building and its potential.
“I just had a verbal commitment,” Libutti told BINJE last week. “We’ll have an offer letter out to a new leader within our cancer program. They are coming from a world-class institution, and, in no small measure, this facility was a real attraction for that person.”
Libutti isn’t surprised. His proverbial phone has been ringing off the hook since The Morris Cancer Center was announced and began to take shape.
Now that it’s complete — the ribbon-cutting is set for Tuesday afternoon — the 520,000-square-foot, 12-story facility featuring 96 private inpatient rooms, 84 infusion chairs and 85 exam rooms is resonating in the medical world.
The building not only includes four linear accelerators, full imaging capabilities and nine operating rooms, it aims to provide comprehensive cancer care, including research.
On top of that, it offers a sense of comfort. The Morris Cancer Center aims to be more of a hotel than a hospital.
Libbutti said it all comes into play when recruiting staff.
“Experts, especially cancer sub specialists, want to practice where they can practice with other sub specialists in a multi-disciplinary team and in a facility that allows them to focus on the care of cancer,” he said. “We’re recruiting the best and the brightest from all over the world, not just all over the country — and many of the ones we’re getting is because they want to go to a free-standing cancer hospital.
“These are doctors that want to work in places you can find in Manhattan or in Philadelphia and other major cities. This is the only one in New Jersey. We’re hoping we’re going to attract those top-notch providers and researchers from all over the world because we have that kind of a facility for them to work in.”
The building is attracting more than just doctors.
Kathleen Arcidiacono, the vice president of nursing at the center, said The Morris Cancer Center is attracting top oncology nurses for the same reasons.
“We have highly specialized, exceptional nurses here who work through evidence-based practice to deliver care,” she said. “Our patients can receive that here with all of the cutting-edge technology at their fingertips to put our patients at ease, so the only thing they need to worry about is receiving their cancer care and that they’re in great hands.
“As a nursing leader, having all of our oncology nurses together in one place is a phenomenal game changer for them to be able to interact see patients, no matter where they are in the facility.”
Arcidiacono said the facility attracts the best of the best.
“I am so proud of our over 500 nurses here; they are highly specialized,” she said. “We have infusion nurses, inpatient oncology nurses with a specialty in bone marrow transplant, CAR T-Cell surgical oncology, radiation oncology, clinic nurses. We just have such a great variety of highly trained nurses here.”
Arcidiacono said they can use more.
“Even though we have a mixed and tenured staff with the expansion of our programs, we definitely still have the opportunity for extraordinary nurses to join our team,” she said.
