HACKENSACK, NJ – March 22, 2021 – Hackensack Meridian Health Foundation is pleased to announce that Sharon and Joseph L. Muscarelle Jr., have made a generous commitment of $2.5 million to benefit the Heart and Vascular Hospital at Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Center.
The significant gift will establish a research database of patient information from Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories procedures, cardiac intensive care units, vascular procedures, neuro-interventional procedures, structural heart disease procedures and electrophysiology procedures to research the best methods to treat cardiovascular patients based on real-time and real-world clinical data. This data leads to a learning health care system, benefitting patients undergoing cardiac-related treatment.
“My family and I have been on the receiving end of such outstanding medical care provided at Hackensack University Medical Center over the course of decades,” said Muscarelle. “After undergoing my own cardiac experience, I more fully understand the complexity of cardiovascular disease and was compelled to make this donation to support cardiovascular physicians and patients.”
Muscarelle is the chairman of Jos. L. Muscarelle, Inc. based in Maywood, NJ, one of the largest full-service real estate developers and builders in the state. With 90 years of history, the Muscarelle companies have developed, owned and managed many projects in the local region, including hotels, office, industrial and multifamily properties. The Muscarelle family has a long history with Hackensack University Medical Center. Muscarelle’s father served on the board of what was then Hackensack Hospital. His mother volunteered for many years and was a fixture at the auxiliary-operated Corner Shop. Just before retiring, Muscarelle began volunteering at the medical center by assisting staff with surgery admissions and helping outside the operating rooms, devoting hundreds of hours in more than 15 years of service. He has also served as a longstanding member of the advisory board to the Heart and Vascular Hospital.
“Throughout the years, Joe and Sharon have been mindful of our shared responsibility to our patients, their families and the communities we serve,” said Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, CEO, Hackensack Meridian Health. “We are beyond grateful for Joe’s hundreds of hours of service and this incredible gift. Joe, Sharon and the Muscarelle family leave a proud legacy of service to our medical center that continues to grow and thrive from the support given by outstanding individuals like them.”
The Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories at the Heart and Vascular Hospital have undergone a comprehensive renovation that is now nearing completion. The renovation has created a state-of-the-art facility that includes two hybrid operating rooms, a completely redesigned pre-procedure and recovery area, family waiting space and a radial lounge. The Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories area also now includes a total of 10 procedure rooms to care for patients requiring neurovascular, vascular, cardiac, electrophysiology and structural heart procedures, which accounts for approximately 10,000 patients per year. In recognition of the Muscarelle family’s leadership and generous commitment, Hackensack University Medical Center has dedicated and named this comprehensive facility as The Muscarelle Family Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories.
“We are honored to receive this most generous gift in support of our physicians and patients at the Heart and Vascular Hospital,” said Mark D. Sparta, FACHE, president and chief hospital executive, Hackensack University Medical Center, executive vice president, Population Health, Hackensack Meridian Health. “The recent renovation of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories will enable our physicians to provide even more advanced care to our patients in a state-of-the-art setting. We are truly grateful for Joe, Sharon and their family’s dedication to our medical center over many years and know that their generosity will have an incredible impact on the advancement of health care for our patients.”
For more information about the Heart and Vascular Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center, please contact William T. Evans, executive director, Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation, at 551-997-3706 or William.Evans@hmhn.org. To support the Heart and Vascular Hospital, please click here.
About Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center
Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center, a 781-bed nonprofit teaching and research hospital located in Bergen County, NJ, is the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in the state. Founded in 1888 as the county’s first hospital, it is now part of 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, which is comprised of 35,000 team members and more than 7,000 physicians. Hackensack University Medical Center is ranked #2 in New Jersey and #59 in the country in U.S. News & World Report’s 2019-20 Best Hospital rankings and is ranked high-performing in the U.S. in colon cancer surgery, lung cancer surgery, COPD, heart failure, heart bypass surgery, aortic valve surgery, abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, knee replacement and hip replacement. Out of 4,500 hospitals evaluated, Hackensack is one of only 57 that received a top rating in all nine procedures and conditions. Hackensack University Medical Center is one of only five major academic medical centers in the nation to receive Healthgrades America’s 50 Best Hospitals Award for five or more years in a row. Becker’s Hospital Review recognized Hackensack University Medical Center as one of the 100 Great Hospitals in America 2018. The medical center is one of the top 25 green hospitals in the country according to Practice Greenhealth, and received 26 Gold Seals of Approval™ by The Joint Commission – more than any other hospital in the country. It was the first hospital in New Jersey and second in the nation to become a Magnet® recognized hospital for nursing excellence; receiving its sixth consecutive designation in 2019. Hackensack University Medical Center has created an entire campus of award-winning care, including: John Theurer Cancer Center, part of Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, an NCI designated comprehensive cancer center; the Heart & Vascular Hospital; and the Sarkis and Siran Gabrellian Women’s and Children’s Pavilion, which houses the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital and Donna A. Sanzari Women’s Hospital, which was designed with The Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center® and listed on the Green Guide’s list of Top 10 Green Hospitals in the U.S. Hackensack University Medical Center is the Hometown Hospital of the New York Giants and the New York Red Bulls and is Official Medical Services Provider to THE NORTHERN TRUST PGA Golf Tournament. It remains committed to its community through fundraising and community events especially the Tackle Kids Cancer Campaign providing much needed research at the Children’s Cancer Institute housed at the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital. To learn more, visit www.HackensackUMC.org.
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 36,000 team members, and 7,000 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 of its hospitals among the top hospitals in New Jersey for 2020-21, according to U.S. News & World Report. Additionally, the health system has more top-ranked hospitals than any system in New Jersey. Children’s Health is again ranked a top provider of pediatric health care in the United States and earned top 50 rankings in the annual U.S. News’ 2020-21 Best Children’s Hospitals report. Other honors include consistently achieving Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and being named to Becker’s Healthcare’s “150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare/2019” list.
The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, 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. The Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI), housed in a fully renovated state-of-the-art facility, seeks to translate current innovations in science to improve clinical outcomes for patients with cancer, infectious diseases and other life-threatening and disabling conditions.
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. To learn more, visit www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org.
