Raritan Bay Medical Center Foundation Welcomes New Trustee

Old Bridge, NJ – August 13, 2019 – Hackensack Meridian Health Raritan Bay Medical Center Foundation is pleased to announce the addition of Leonard Somarriba, DPT, CSCS, to the Raritan Bay Medical Center Foundation Board of Trustees.

 

“The board of trustees is excited to welcome Dr. Somarriba to the Raritan Bay Medical Center Foundation,” says Joseph Stampe, president and chief development officer, Hackensack Meridian Health Meridian Health Foundation. “Leonard brings with him a fresh perspective and a unique background that will greatly benefit the medical center. He is a successful business owner who also gives of his time to serve the Aberdeen community as a member of its Economic Business Council, in addition to serving as an active member of the Old Bridge Business Alliance and other chamber organizations. We look forward to his expertise as we work to enhance care for our community.”

 

Dr. Somarriba specializes in outpatient physical therapy and has been treating and managing patients with orthopedic and neuromuscular disorders for nearly 15 years. In 2013, he co-founded ProFysio Physical Therapy, serving Aberdeen, Holmdel, Old Bridge and East Brunswick, and continues to serve as the co-CEO of ProFysio. In addition to giving of his time to help the community, Dr. Somarriba has also committed a major gift to Raritan Bay Medical Center Foundation in support of the new, planned Emergency Department (ED) in Old Bridge.

 

“It’s important to me to give back to my community,” says Dr. Somarriba. “Joining the board of trustees now, at such a pivotal moment in Raritan Bay Medical Center’s history as they embark on their ED expansion, means that I will be able to help shape care for area residents and rally support from likeminded individuals. It’s a special time and I am honored to be part of the excitement.”

 

The addition of influential community members to medical center boards is paramount as Meridian Health Foundation continues its capital campaign to raise $150 million for eight Hackensack Meridian Health hospitals within Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties, including: Jersey Shore University Medical Center, K. Hovnanian Children’s Center, Bayshore Medical Center, Ocean Medical Center, Raritan Bay Medical Center – Old Bridge, Raritan Bay Medical Center – Perth Amboy, Riverview Medical Center and Southern Ocean Medical Center. Called Giving Heals, the campaign supports four important initiatives: strengthening oncology services, improving clinical outcomes, enhancing the patient experience and broadening clinical research and academic programs. To date, more than $95 million has been raised by individual donors, corporations and public grants.

 

To learn more about how you can support Raritan Bay Medical Center Foundation, or the Giving Heals campaign, please contact Linda Hill, executive director, Raritan Bay Medical Center Foundation, at 732-324-5376 or visit hackensackmeridianhealth.org/GivingHeals.

 

ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH RARITAN BAY MEDICAL CENTER

For more than 100 years, Hackensack Meridian Health Raritan Bay Medical Center-Perth Amboy and Raritan Bay Medical Center-Old Bridge have provided a full continuum of health care services to residents of Central Jersey. Raritan Bay Medical Center is one of less than one percent of hospitals in the world to achieve Magnet Recognition, the “Gold Standard” for nursing practice, quality, and safety in patient care, four times. In 2019, U.S. News & World Report ranked Raritan Bay Medical Center as high performing in Orthopedics, Nephrology, COPD and Heart Failure. 

 

The medical center is a New Jersey state designated Primary Stroke Center and recipient of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award, recognizing optimal treatment of stroke patients. Raritan Bay is also a recipient of the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval and the AHA’s Heart Check Mark for Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers and the AHA’s Mission: Lifeline® EMS Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award recognizing high-quality care of patients experiencing a severe heart attack.

 

The Joslin Diabetes Center, Affiliate at Raritan Bay-Old Bridge, provides the latest advances for treating diabetes and its complications as well as other metabolic and endocrine disorders. Among its flagship programs are the Human Motion Institute, a comprehensive orthopedic program, and Institute for Weight Loss at Raritan Bay-Old Bridge and Center for Bariatric Surgery at Raritan Bay-Perth Amboy, both specializing in weight loss surgery. As part of Hackensack Meridian Health, one of New Jersey’s most comprehensive health networks, patients have access to advanced specialized services with a seamless continuum of care, close to home. 

 

For more information, visit www.rbmc.org. To make an appointment for an outpatient test or treatment, call 732-324-5270. For a free physician referral, call 1-800-560-9990.

 

ABOUT THE GIVING HEALS CAMPAIGN

Giving Heals is a $150 million regional comprehensive campaign to raise funds for strengthening oncology services, improving clinical outcomes, enhancing the patient experience and broadening clinical research and academic programs. Publicly announced at the Meridian Health Foundation Gala on November 17, 2018, the campaign will run through 2020. Over $95 million dollars has been raised to support the following Hackensack Meridian Health medical centers: Jersey Shore University Medical Center, K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital, Bayshore Medical Center, Ocean Medical Center, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, Riverview Medical Center and Southern Ocean Medical Center.

 

ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH

Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care.

 

Hackensack Meridian Health comprises 17 hospitals from Bergen to Ocean counties, which includes three academic medical centers – Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, JFK Medical Center in Edison; two children’s hospitals – Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital in Hackensack, K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital in Neptune; nine community hospitals – Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair, Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, and Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin; a behavioral health hospital – Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead; and two rehabilitation hospitals – JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison and Shore Rehabilitation Institute in Brick.

 

Additionally, the network has more than 500 patient care locations throughout the state which include ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, fitness and wellness centers, rehabilitation centers, urgent care centers and physician practice locations. Hackensack Meridian Health has more than 34,100 team members, and 6,500 physicians and is a distinguished leader in health care philanthropy, committed to the health and well-being of the communities it serves.

 

The network’s notable distinctions include having four hospitals among the top 10 in New Jersey by U.S. News and World Report. Other honors include consistently achieving Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and being named to Becker’s Health care’s “150 Top Places to Work in Health care/2018” list.

 

The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University, the first private medical school in New Jersey in more than 50 years, welcomed its first class of students in 2018 to its On3 campus in Nutley and Clifton. Additionally, the network partnered with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to find more cures for cancer faster while ensuring that patients have access to the highest quality, most individualized cancer care when and where they need it.

 

Hackensack Meridian Health is a member of AllSpire Health Partners, an interstate consortium of leading health systems, to focus on the sharing of best practices in clinical care and achieving efficiencies.

 

For additional information, please visit www.HackensackMeridianHealth.org.

 

###