ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL AND SOMERSET MEDICAL CENTER CELEBRATE MERGER SIGNING

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ, Oct. 8, 2013 -- Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Somerset Medical Center recently celebrated the official signing of their merger agreement at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. The agreement has been submitted to the New Jersey Attorney General for review and is expected to be finalized in 2014, creating a 965-bed hospital with campuses in New Brunswick and Somerville.

“We are excited to move forward with this historic merger agreement which will offer the Central New Jersey community expanded access to high-quality medical care close to home,” said Stephen K. Jones, FACHE, president and CEO of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Robert Wood Johnson Health System.

“The merged hospital will be one of the largest acute care facilities in New Jersey, strengthening our ability to serve our community for generations to come,” said Kenneth Bateman, president and CEO of Somerset Medical Center.

The hospitals have formed transition teams to begin planning for merging the two organizations.

“Because our organizations have had long-standing partnerships in many areas of clinical care and share many of the same physicians, we anticipate a smooth transition process,” said John R. Lumpkin, MD, MPH, chair of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Board of Directors.

“Throughout the merger process, the needs of our patients and our community will always be first and foremost in guiding the formation of our new entity,” added Paul V. Stahlin, chairman of Somerset Medical Center’s Board of Trustees.

For more information about Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Somerset Medical Center, go to www.rwjuh.edu or www.somersetmedicalcenter.com.

About Somerset Medical Center

                                Somerset Medical Center is a 355-bed acute care hospital in Somerville, providing comprehensive health care services to residents throughout Central New Jersey. It is nationally recognized as a Magnet® hospital for nursing excellence. The medical center’s Steeplechase Cancer Center is designated as a Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer – a distinction achieved by only one in four hospitals nationwide that treat cancer patients. The Joint Surgery Institute at Somerset Medical Center has earned the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for total knee and total hip replacement surgery. The medical center is designated as a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission and the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services. It is one of nine Medical Coordination Centers established by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services to coordinate communication among emergency responders during a disaster situation. For more information about Somerset Medical Center, visit www.somersetmedicalcenter.com.

About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) is a 600-bed academic medical center which is the flagship Cancer Hospital of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and the principal hospital of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, NJ. Robert Wood Johnson is an innovative leader in advancing state-of-the-art care. Its Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, and women’s and children’s care including The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.bmsch.org). The hospital is also a Level 1 Trauma Center and serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness. The hospital has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety. RWJUH has been ranked among the best hospitals in America by U.S.News & World Report six times and has been selected by the publication as a high performing hospital in several specialties. The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital has also ranked among the nation’s Best Children’s Hospitals by U.S.News & World Report for two consecutive years. The American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer has rated RWJUH among the nation's best comprehensive cancer centers and the hospital’s Comprehensive Stroke Center is certified by the Joint Commission to provide complex stroke care. The Leapfrog Group rated RWJUH as one of the 50 exceptional U.S. hospitals, as published in Consumers Digest magazine, and has given the hospital an “A” grade for safety and quality. Harvard University researchers, in a study commissioned by The Commonwealth Fund, identified RWJUH as one of the top 10 hospitals in the nation for clinical quality. RWJUH is also a four-time recipient of the prestigious Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence. Visit us online at www.rwjuh.edu.