St. Joseph’s, Hackensack Meridian open cancer center

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St. Joseph’s Health and Hackensack Meridian Health announced May 25 the opening of The Cancer Center at Totowa, in partnership with Hackensack Meridian’s John Theurer Cancer Center. 

Located on St. Joseph’s campus at 225 Minnisink Road in Totowa, the 70,000-square-foot center is the “marquee facility” of the organizations’ cancer centers, according to the announcement. 

Services at the Totowa center include immunotherapy, diagnostic services, infusion services, lab services, medical oncology, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, and nutrition and counseling. Medical research also will be conducted at the facility. 

Additionally, through the center’s new genetic services, any patient with a predisposition for or family history of cancer can be screened by a specialist to test for cancer risk. 

Health care center executives applauded the opening, with Hackensack Meridian Health CEO Robert Garrett calling it “a tremendous endeavor.” 

Kevin Slavin, president and CEO of St. Joseph’s Health, added, “Opening the new cancer center is a major step forward in launching a comprehensive cancer care program as a collaboration between our two organizations.” 

A St. Joseph’s representative told NJBIZ the new center is part of its $35 million investment in cancer care on three campuses: St. Joseph’s Wayne Medical Center, the Cancer Center at Totowa and, “within about a year,” a new cancer center on the St. Joseph’s University Medical Center campus in Paterson.

The new center in Totowa was also made possible, in part, by a “generous” donation by the Nicholas Martini Foundation and U.S. District Judge William Martini. The donation amount will not be disclosed, the representative told NJBIZ.

“Our family is thrilled to see how this cancer center has come to life, all for the benefit of patients within this region,” said Martini, president of the foundation. “This is the future of health care.” 

The medical teams also noted the significance of the cancer center. Dr. Andre Goy, chairman and chief physician officer of the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center, said the facility helps advance oncologic services in an area where there previously had not been enough access. 

Dr. Elias Obeid – medical director of medical oncology, who specializes in breast cancer and cancer genetics and will lead the partnership cancer programs in Totowa, Patterson and Wayne – said that “any time a patient presents with cancer, they are going to see a physician who specializes in that specific cancer.” 

“It’s truly a comprehensive care approach all in one location for the community,” Obeid added. 

Hackensack Meridian and St. Joseph’s collaboration began in 2017, with the launch of the Visiting Health Services of New Jersey, according to the providers. In 2019, the partnership expanded to include oncology and rehabilitation. 

The John Theurer Cancer Center is part of the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center.