By Amy P. Murtha and Robert L. Johnson
As the deans leading the process of merging Rutgers New Jersey Medical School with Robert Wood Johnson Medical School to form the new Rutgers School of Medicine, we hear from members of the community who have questions and concerns regarding what the merger will mean for them.
While most have been supportive, we want to address head-on the top three concerns we hear.
Concern: The merger will mean that Rutgers is abandoning Newark.
We’re not going anywhere, but you don’t just have to take our word for it.
We are very much doubling down on Newark and are making the investments we need to recruit and train the best and brightest for decades to come.
We are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in Newark to modernize and update New Jersey Medical School facilities and expand research laboratories on our campus. We are actively working with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, University Hospital, and our partners at the state level in developing a plan that would allow Rutgers to partner with University Hospital to develop new space on the Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS) Newark campus. This space will benefit our faculty, staff, and Newark residents who depend on Rutgers Health and University Hospital for clinical care.
Concern: Newark residents will lose health care services.
We hear this concern more frequently than anything else from the Newark community. We understand it – Newark has been let down too many times before. For example, Newark has disproportionately shouldered the burdens of industrial pollution and all the associated health impacts it has caused on its residents.
So, while the patient services that we provide to the community are through a contractual agreement with University Hospital, we stand by the agreement – not just as a legal and legislative commitment – but as a moral and ethical obligation to the communities we serve.
It’s important to remember that the primary role of the Rutgers School of Medicine is to train our future doctors to be the best healthcare providers who understand the unique needs of the communities they serve. They will also be on the forefront of medicine, helping to improve outcomes and advance research and education for future generations.
Not only will healthcare services through University Hospital continue following the merger, but they will be strengthened thanks to the support of a unified medical school that no longer competes for talent and resources with its sister institution.
Our commitment to the health of the community we call home is not only part of our statute – it is part of our history and our future. We are investing hundreds of millions in our Newark campus because our renovations will complement University Hospital’s clinical care enhancements.
Concern: The community isn’t being heard
Regardless of our efforts to reach out, if the community doesn’t feel like it is being heard, we must do better.
We are committed to looking for additional and better ways to meaningfully engage and listen - both during and after the merger process.
From virtual town hall meetings to in-person open office hours to a website, we are working to meet the community where it is by providing as many options as possible. We created the Community Engagement Taskforce, which seeks input from the medical school community, as another way to gather feedback from the community throughout the process. We also created seven additional Integration Task Forces that include a cross section of the medical school community that will help us create the best possible medical school in the nation.
If there is an organization or individual who wants to learn more or provide feedback, we want to meet with you and make ourselves available to answer questions. Click here now to make your voice heard.
We have heard from so many people throughout this process – faculty members, students, community members, physicians, and nurses. We know how important the future of the Rutgers School of Medicine is to the communities we serve and call home. We encourage you to make your voice heard throughout this process so that we can continue to make our medical school the best in the nation.
Amy P. Murtha, MD, is the dean of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Robert L. Johnson, MD, FAAP, is the dean of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.
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