Dr. Steve Libutti, the William N. Hait Director of the Rutgers Cancer Institute and the SVP of Oncology Services at RWJBarnabas Health, said everyone involved in the launch of the state-of-the-art stand-alone Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center in New Brunswick last spring learned one important lesson: The need for such services in the state is bigger than anyone realized.
Libutti said The Morris reached its limits almost immediately after opening.
Three-pronged effort
A look at the three main cancer facilities RWJBarnabas is bringing to the state.
- New Brunswick: Jack & Sheryl Morris Cancer Center (opened last spring)
- Livingston: Melchiorre Cancer Center (opening this summer)
- Tinton Falls: Specialty and Cancer Care Center at the Vogel Medical Campus (opening in 2027)
“The Morris has 96 inpatient beds; we have been full to capacity since a week after we opened the inpatient unit in August,” Libutti said. “We underestimated the untapped need that existed in the state for this level of cancer care.”
That experience is driving the planned mid-June opening of the Melchiorre Cancer Center at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, which will serve as the northern hub of the integrated oncology services of RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Cancer Institute.
To be sure, plans for the Melchiorre Cancer Center — and the coming Specialty and Cancer Care Center at the Vogel Medical Campus in Tinton Falls — have long been part of RWJBarnabas’ $1.5 billion effort to bring world-class cancer care to New Jersey.
The opening of the Morris just showed how much in demand there is for these facilities.
Libutti, on a media call Monday detailing some of the plans for the Melchiorre Center, described the overall approach as “many doors leading to one program.”
Better said, it will be an easier door to get to for patients in Essex County and all of North Jersey than facilities in New York City — or even New Brunswick, Libutti said.
When they get there, they will find plenty for them, according to Rick Davis, the CEO of Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center.
Davis said the five-story facility will total roughly 137,000 square feet and consolidate a wide range of outpatient oncology services. He noted it not only will have 52 exam rooms and 40 private infusion suites, but a dedicated, short and extended-stay treatment space within the building.
The Melchiorre Center also will include lab, imaging, pharmacy — everything that a patient is going to need for their care, he said. Davis also noted holistic services, such as wig fitting.
Dr. Alison Grann, Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, noted the state-of-the-art treatment it will deliver.
Grann said the Melchiorre Center will have advanced radiation and imaging technology, including an MRI-linear accelerator, one of only three in New Jersey and 25 in the country.
The Melchiorre Center already is seeing limited patients. Grant said radiation oncology began treating patients April 13.
Davis said the Department of Health has already inspected the radiation and imaging floors and will return in the coming weeks to survey the rest of the building.
The impact already is evident.
While one of the main goals is to keep New Jersey cancer patients in state, system leaders say the expanding network is also starting to draw patients from outside New Jersey.
Dr. George Raptis, the director of oncology services for the Northern Region of RWJBarnabas Health, said the word of the center already is out.
“I have patients who come from Westchester, Long Island, upstate New York,” he said. “They’re coming because of what’s available here.”
