As he stood outside Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital many decades ago, 18-year-old Jack Morris had no idea he would one day make his fortune as a top developer, no idea he would become one of the state’s top business executives, no idea he would be able to financially support (privately more than publicly) so many great causes.
He just knew his grandmother, Lillian, was dying of cancer and there was nothing he could do about it.
“I was standing there, thinking, ‘What can I do?’” he recalled. “I looked up to the Good Lord and asked for help. I prayed and prayed for a solution.”
It would come many years later.
After he established himself in the business world and after he assumed the role of chair of the Robert Wood Johnson Health System, Morris took a call from Barry Ostrowsky, the head of Barnabas Health. He was pitching a merger. Morris wasn’t interested.
Morris already was overseeing a five-hospital system and a medical school. Their financials were excellent and their impact on the communities in which they served was second to none.
“We already were on a trajectory to do great things: Why would I want to merge?” Morris recalled asking Ostrowsky at the time.
“He convinced me that, together, they could do even more. He convinced me that, together, we could build a facility that would provide the best cancer care, not only in New Jersey, but one that will rival the best cancer care in the United States of America.
“I thought to myself, ‘This is the answer to my prayer.’”
In 2016, the two systems merged into RWJBarnabas Health and began mapping a future.
Later this afternoon, Morris will be on hand to cut the ribbon on the Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center — a billion-dollar-plus facility that will change the face of cancer care in New Jersey.
It not only will feature hundreds of state-of-the-art rooms and care stations, but it will work in conjunction with the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The collaboration will provide the best care for today and the translational research needed for tomorrow.
“I only agreed to do the merger if it would lead to something big — something more than just increased size and financials,” Morris said in an exclusive interview with BINJE. “This is that something. People don’t fully understand how big this will be.”
They won’t, Morris said, until that seemingly inevitable day when cancer strikes them or someone they love.
“We’ll be there for them,” he said. “This is what we need to do. People in New Jersey deserve better care and they’ll get it here. When you walk into the place, you will see how important this center is. I don’t call it a hospital. I call it a center.”
One that bears the name of him and his wife.
Morris’ impact on the cancer center goes beyond his role as a board chair; his family made an extraordinary financial contribution. It’s why the building is being called, ‘The Morris.’
Morris said he didn’t seek the acclaim. In fact, he’s made a career of avoiding it. So much of his philanthropy is done privately.
“It’s not about me, it’s about what we do and the people we serve,” he said.
In this case, Ostrowsky convinced Morris that adding his name would add to the project.
“He convinced me that it could help inspire other people to want to give and want to be part of it,” Morris said.
“Without philanthropy, most of the research would never happen. If you look back, Robert Wood Johnson Hospital wouldn’t be there, but for Gen. (Robert Wood) Johnson (II). It’s the same for many other hospitals, universities and other places that serve the public.”
The impact of philanthropy on health care already is being felt, Morris said.
“I can tell you right now that I have several family members and friends that, unfortunately, are going through this terrible, rotten disease,” he said. “And there’s now a hope and a prayer. Some are being cured of cancer that would have killed them 10 years ago.
“It’s amazing what we’ve been able to do, and will continue to do, to keep people alive. People need to know they can now get the best cancer care right here in New Jersey.”
People need to know that some of their prayers can be answered.
“God answers our prayers in different ways,” Morris said. “People think having a boatload of money drop in your lap will be the answer to your prayers. It’s not. It’s the ability to see the opportunities in front of you.
“That’s what we’re going to do here. And it never could have been done without the merger of these two health care systems. This is the answer to my prayer — a little late for me, but maybe not for others.
“That’s why this is so important to me.”
