The credit, the honor, the prestige, the recognition … goes to the nurses who work around the clock, the world-class surgeons in the operating rooms, the lifesavers in the ER – really, everyone associated with Hackensack Meridian Health who puts patients first.
Those aren’t our words, but rather, the words of HMH CEO Bob Garrett.
Garrett is a highly regarded health care thought leader on a global scale, but he’s always been eager to promote the efforts of others.
It’s the type of camaraderie and corporate culture that helped the system’s flagship hospital, Hackensack University Medical Center, earn recognition this summer from U.S. News & World Report as one of the 20 best hospitals in the country — a first for any hospital in the state.
And it’s an example of excellence that helps place Garrett as a co-No. 1 on the first BINJE Best: Health Care rankings.
Garrett shares the recognition at the top spot with HMH Chief Operating Officer Mark Sparta, Acute Care Hospital Division President Dr. Ken Sable and HUMC Chief Hospital Executive Dr. Lisa Tank.
But it really goes to everyone at HMH.
“Their collective passion and relentless pursuit of excellence drive our success,” Garrett told BINJE. “To see their incredible work recognized on a national stage is immensely gratifying.”
HUMC was recognized as the top hospital in the state and the New York City-area region.
But the success of the HMH system goes deeper than just HUMC.
A number of Hackensack Meridian Health hospitals have been ranked highly in New Jersey and across the nation for several years in a row, including:
- Jersey Shore University Medical Center: Ranked as a Top 5 Hospital in New Jersey in each of the past 13 years that U.S. News & World Report has done the rankings, it is now ranked No. 19 overall in the New York/New Jersey Metropolitan area.
- The John Theurer Cancer Center: Located at HUMC, it was ranked as the best cancer center in the state.
- JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute: Ranked No. 33 in the nation, it has been a Top 50 Rehabilitation Hospital in the nation in each of the past seven years.
Garrett gushed at all of the accolades.
“It’s been a journey, but we’re so proud of the team,” he said.
Of course, the Top 20 national ranking tops all, as it puts HUMC in the same class as nationally heralded hospitals such as the Mayo Clinic, the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Cleveland Clinic, New York-Presbyterian and Massachusetts General Hospital.
More than that, it proves what New Jersey officials have said for years: You don’t have to cross the state line to get world-class care.
The hardest part about writing a capsule on Garrett is deciding what to focus on. He oversees an HMH system with 18 hospitals, more than 500 patient care locations, 37,000 team members and 7,000+ physicians. But Garrett is so much more than that. His vision of health care combined with his astute business acumen has made him a thought leader throughout the state, the country and around the world.
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Sparta recently transitioned into the role of COO following a 30-year career at HMH that has seen him excel at so many roles, including serving as president of the Northern Market and president and chief hospital executive of Hackensack University Medical Center. His efforts at HUMC during the pandemic were legendary — and lifesaving.
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An 11-year veteran of HMH (with more than 25 years of experience in health care), Sable is transitioning into his biggest role yet: Overseeing the system’s 18 hospitals — one of which (HUMC) was just rated among the 20 best in the country. One of his key roles and goals: Maintaining HUMC’s lofty status, thus raising the bar for all others.
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She oversees a hospital that is No. 1 in the state and region and Top 20 in the country for so many reasons, starting with this: Hackensack is nationally ranked in 10 of the 11 specialty areas listed by U.S. News & World Report and is the first in New Jersey (second in the country) to achieve Magnet designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center seven consecutive times.
