Atlantic Health System Public Relations Department
Louise Gonzalez
Hersh Fetal Diagnostic and Treatment Center provided
by generous grant from Dorothy B. Hersh Foundation
Morristown, NJ – January 30, 2024 – Women with high-risk pregnancies will now have vital access to experts in one location. Atlantic Health System’s Morristown Medical Center today announced a $2.5 million grant from the Dorothy B. Hersh Foundation to create the Hersh Fetal Diagnostic and Treatment Center at Morristown Medical Center. The center will bring maternal fetal medicine patient care to the next level of excellence and meet a growing demand for services.
The new facility at 55 Madison Avenue will centralize patient care services, expand diagnostic capabilities, increase team member support and create a welcoming and comforting patient care environment. This comprehensive resource is for pregnant women whose babies have congenital anomalies or other fetal complications and provides access to multidisciplinary care by clinical experts whose sole focus is to keep both mother and baby healthy before, during and after birth.
“We are deeply grateful to the Dorothy B. Hersh Foundation for its extraordinary contributions and longstanding support,” said Trish O’Keefe, PhD, RN, President, Morristown Medical Center.” Together, we are building a state-of-the-art center for advanced care and treatment that will make a difference in the lives of so many high-risk moms and babies.”
Established in 2010, the existing practice has seen increased patient demand, especially over the last three years. The center follows 180 patients a year and makes referrals to Goryeb Children’s Hospital pediatric cardiology, neonatology, genetics, neurology, neurosurgery, surgery, urology, nephrology, orthopedics and craniofacial divisions for specialized care. Many of the services and physicians are located in different areas of Goryeb Children’s Hospital and Morristown Medical Center, requiring expectant parents to make numerous appointments and navigate different facilities, adding more stress to an already stressful time.
The new Hersh Fetal Diagnostic and Treatment Center will be designed to make it easy and convenient for families to receive all their care in one location and ideally during one appointment. It is part of Goryeb’s commitment to patient- and family-centered medicine which addresses both the physical and emotional aspects of patient care, partnering with families along their journey and ensuring that they have coordinated access to pediatric experts for continuous care.
“This important contribution is a clear demonstration of the power of philanthropy to accelerate positive growth in health care delivery, treatment and state-of-the-art equipment,” said Jennifer Smith, Chief Philanthropy Officer, Foundation for Morristown Medical Center. “The Dorothy B. Hersh Foundation’s generosity continues a long philanthropic legacy at Morristown Medical Center and there is no doubt that this gift will have a long-lasting impact on families and generations to come.”
Established in 1979, the Dorothy B. Hersh Foundation provides grants for capital expenditures benefitting the needs of children throughout New Jersey and has supported crucial pediatric needs at both Morristown and Overlook Medical Centers for the past decade.
“I know Dorothy would be stunned, and so pleased that today – more than four decades after the foundation was established – thousands and thousands of children in New Jersey have the chance to be happy and healthy with happy and healthy parents,” said Harriet L. Donnelly, foundation administrator of the Dorothy B. Hersh Foundation. “Our mission is to improve the lives of children, one child at a time, and this effort is unique because we are taking a step back and helping children from the very beginning of their lives while they are still in the womb. The impact of this contribution, I am sure, will make a difference in so many lives across the state.”
About the Foundation for Morristown Medical Center
Established in 1995, the Foundation for Morristown Medical Center’s mission is to inspire community philanthropy to advance exceptional health care for patients at Morristown Medical Center and Goryeb Children’s Hospital. Over the past 10 years, donors have contributed more than $217.5 million to support both Morristown Medical Center and Goryeb Children’s Hospital. The Foundation for Morristown Medical Center is recognized by the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy as a “High Performer” among the nation’s leading hospitals.
About Atlantic Health System
Atlantic Health System is at the forefront of medicine, setting standards for quality health care in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the New York metropolitan area. Powered by a workforce of 20,000 team members and 5,440 affiliated physicians dedicated to building healthier communities, Atlantic Health System serves more than half of the state of New Jersey including 14 counties and 7.5 million people. The not-for-profit system offers more than 550 sites of care, including its seven hospitals: Morristown Medical Center in Morristown, NJ, Overlook Medical Center in Summit, NJ, Newton Medical Center in Newton, NJ, Chilton Medical Center in Pompton Plains, NJ, Hackettstown Medical Center in Hackettstown, NJ, Goryeb Children’s Hospital in Morristown, NJ, Atlantic Rehabilitation Institute in Madison, NJ and through its partnership with CentraState Healthcare System in Freehold, NJ.
The system includes Atlantic Medical Group, part of a physician enterprise that makes up one of the largest multispecialty practices in New Jersey with more than 1,600 physicians and advance practice providers. Joined with Atlantic Accountable Care Organization and Optimus Healthcare Partners they form part of Atlantic Alliance, a Clinically Integrated Network of more than 2,500 health care providers throughout northern and central NJ.
Atlantic Health System provides care for the full continuum of health care needs through 24 urgent care centers, Atlantic Visiting Nurse and Atlantic Anywhere Virtual Visits. Facilitating the connection between these services on both land and air is the transportation fleet of Atlantic Mobile Health.
Atlantic Health System leads the Healthcare Transformation Consortium, a partnership of six regional hospitals and health systems dedicated to improving access and affordability and is a founding member of the PIER Consortium – Partners in Innovation, Education, and Research – a streamlined clinical trial system that will expand access to groundbreaking research across five health systems in the region.
Atlantic Health System has a medical school affiliation with Thomas Jefferson University and is home to the regional campus of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Morristown and Overlook Medical Centers and is the official health care partner of the New York Jets.