Bonita Stanton, the founding dean at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine and a pediatrician who began her career working in one of the world’s poorest locales, died Jan. 19 at age 70.
Hackensack Meridian Health said Stanton died after a sudden and unexpected illness.
“The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, Hackensack Meridian Health, and all of us who knew her and worked closely with her will honor Dean Stanton’s memory by continuing to build on her exceptional legacy,” said HMH Chief Executive Robert Garrett in a statement.
In July 2020, Hackensack Meridian Health celebrated the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine’s establishment as an independent entity after partnering with Seton Hall University to open the medical school three years ago. At the commemoration event on the school’s Nutley/Clifton campus at ON3, founding Dean Dr. Bonita Stanton, left, HMH Chief Executive Officer Robert Garrett, right, and Seton Hall President Joseph Nyre unveiled a commemorative plaque marking the school’s independence. – HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH
Stanton was named dean of the new medical school in 2016 and welcomed the first class two years later. She had been serving as vice dean of research at Wayne State University Medical School in Detroit. “My career has focused on improving health outcomes for all persons, regardless of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and geographic location,” Stanton said at the time. “I share the widespread concern that U.S. health care costs are among the highest in the world, but our health outcomes are only fair in comparison with all nations and poor in comparison with our socioeconomic peer nations. Extensive research speaks to the importance of delivering preventive and curative care with a far greater emphasis on community-based services, reserving our tertiary hospitals for technologically complex procedures and treatments and the very ill.”
For five years, Stanton lived and worked in Dhaka, Bangladesh, treating patients and conducting research on the prevention and treatment of diarrheal diseases in the city’s slums. The World Bank later asked her to continue that work as part of a new approach to economic development in severely impoverished nations with a major focus on maternal-child health and education. It was the first time the World Bank had collaborated in a financial support program with other nations and donors, including USAID.
“This [Dhaka] experience is fundamental to our vision for the School of Medicine and has driven my whole career since that point,” she once said. “It is a great opportunity to start a new medical school in collaboration with a health care system in order to create a partnership that is really going to change health care outcomes for the populations they jointly serve.”
Stanton also held academic positions at the University of Maryland and West Virginia University. She was the author of more than 350 peer-reviewed manuscripts and edited several books, including Nelson’s Textbook of Pediatrics. Stanton was the consulting editor for “Pediatric Clinics of North America” and was a member of the editorial board of Clinical Keys.
Under Stanton’s leadership, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine played a prominent role in the community. For example, the school adopted a Human Dimension course as part of its core curriculum. Over three years, students are matched to families from underserved areas throughout New Jersey, and they are immersed with a local community to understand local health assets and barriers. At the end of their first year, the students present their initial community findings to leaders as part of their Community Assessment Project. In the CAP presentations, students report on communities including Nutley, Clifton, Paterson, Passaic County and Hackensack.
Stanton earned a number of honors for her work at the school, including the National Medical Fellowships’ Legacy Award in September 2021. In 2019, she ranked sixth on the NJBIZ Education Power 50 and came in at No. 7 a year later. Stanton was also the winner of the 2019 Health Care Hero award in the Education-Individual category.
Bonita Frances Stanton was born on April 5, 1951 at Yale New Haven Hospital in Connecticut, the second of 3 children to Ernest and Vivian (Brennan) Stanton. Her father was a pharmaceutical representative for ER Squibb and her mother was an educator and psychologist.
She spent her early years in North Haven, Conn., attending North Haven High School. After graduating from Wellesley College, Stanton returned to Yale for her medical education and was elected to the medical school honor society. She was married to Dr. John D. Clemens for 30 years.
She is survived by her daughters, Margaret Clemens and Rebecca, and son-in-law Dustin Bouverette, grandchildren Hunter, Griffin and Ainsley Mikel, Abigail Bouverette and a grandson due in May. She is also survived by her sister, Pamela Albertsen and her brother Kim Stanton.
Funeral arrangements will be private. HMH said a memorial service will be held at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine in the future. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to the Bonita F. Stanton, M.D. Scholarship Fund.
