The partnership hopes to distinguish South Jersey as a hub for clinical discovery and innovation.
Virtua Health and Rowan University announced an affiliation agreement on January 4, to develop a new academic health system. The Virtua Health College of Medicine & Health Sciences of Rowan University will consist of the university’s osteopathic medical school, an expansion of the nursing and allied health professions school, alignment of clinical practices for improving patient care, and workforce training.
Additionally, the college will include research institutes and recruit 50 faculty investigators over the next decade, which is expected to generate over $225 million in research grants by 2032, according to Tony Lowman, Rowan University provost.
To support the partnership, Virtua Health is making a philanthropic investment of $85 million to the university. The endowment will fund faculty salaries, the college’s programs, and the construction of a state-of-the-art research facility.
“There has never been a more defining moment for our two respected organizations to come together to transform and reimagine the future of healthcare and the health care workforce than right now,” Dennis W. Pullin, FACHE, president and CEO of Virtua Health said. “This affiliation will further strengthen our relationship with Rowan [University] so that we can innovate around the training of tomorrow’s physicians and health professionals and the critical research that will impact the future of health care in this community. I am excited about the purposeful things that we will do together and the lasting, here-for-good impact our efforts will have in New Jersey and beyond.”
Through their efforts, Virtua Health and Rowan University aim to become innovators in researching, developing, and testing new methods of therapy and care and assist the needs of underserved individuals in the region.
“The best health systems in the nation partner with great research institutions,” Ali A. Houshmand, president of Rowan University, said. “Virtua Health is one of the leading health care providers in the state. To have earned Virtua’s confidence and to be the partner they choose to invest in is tremendous. We’re proud to share Virtua’s values and vision and to see a future where we can make a difference together. This landmark gift and our partnership will transform both institutions.”
The holiday surge of COVID-19 cases has carried over into the new year, now forcing two hospitals to temporarily shutter some of their services.
In Florida, Holy Cross Health has temporarily closed its maternity ward as of Sunday, January 2. The hospital's neonatal intensive care and postpartum units have remained open.
The hospital's decision came after the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases at the organization, including staff members. Holy Cross is working with nearby hospitals Memorial Healthcare System and Broward Health to ensure maternity patients continue to receive care.
"We're prepared to receive them. They will get the absolute best of care, and we'll make sure that they and their babies are discharged as quickly as we can and go home and start their new families," Leah Carpenter, executive vice president and COO of Memorial Healthcare System, told local news outlet, 6 South Florida. "But we're very comfortable managing our COVID population and making sure that our mommies are kept safe as well as the babies."
Geary Community Hospital in Kansas plans to shut its ICU down by February 1 due to staff shortages and "fiscal situations beyond our control." A statement from the hospital issued Monday, January 3 explained that the unit will be closed "through a phased transition."
"While some departments will be impacted, emergency care, critical support services, and clinics will remain available for our patients," LJ Baker, director of human resources and external relations, stated. The hospital plans to retain as many of its staff by reassigning them to understaffed departments.
Like Holy Cross, Geary is working with other facilities in the area to coordinate treatment and services for its patients.
