H E A LT H C A R E
FROMHOLD: COURTESY OF HACKENSACK UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER MOUNTAINSIDE; OTHER PHOTOS COURTESY OF BOHM-MARRAZZO
JOHN FROMHOLD, PRESIDENT AND CEO,
HACKENSACK UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER MOUNTAINSIDE
J
ohn Fromhold majored in biology as an undergraduate,
managed restaurants, then combined his science and
business skills for a satisfying career in health
administration. He served as CEO of multiple hospitals
before joining Merit Health Systems, the private hospital
management company that acquired Mountainside
Hospital in 2007. When Mountainside was sold to LHP
Hospital Group and Hackensack University Medical Center
in 2012, he stayed on as CEO.
This summer, Hackensack UMC Mountainside became part
of a group of 11 hospitals—four in the Hackensack network,
and seven belonging to Meridian Health, a series of medical
centers located along the Jersey shore. Mergers like these offer
myriad benefits to community hospitals, according to
Fromhold. “We’re collaborative, and each organization brings
its own strengths,” he says. “Hackensack has a strong presence
in consultative and advanced levels of care, and Mountainside
has been able to recruit vascular, thoracic and gynecologic
oncology specialists. Meridian has a broad network in place,
with acute and sub-acute care, assisted living facilities and
fitness centers.”
“We’re leaving fee-for-service-based delivery, and moving
in the direction of being reimbursed for reaching expected
outcomes,” says Fromhold. The increased office space
Hackensack UMC Mountainside hopes to build in Montclair
and Glen Ridge should accommodate more primary care,
family medicine, obstetricians and various specialists who
want to be affiliated with the hospital rather than go it alone.
But those aren’t the only building plans the hospital system
has in the works. In a joint venture with Seton Hall University,
the Hackensack University Health Network plans to open a
private medical school on the former Hoffman-La Roche site
in Nutley. Seton Hall’s School of Nursing and allied professions
will move onto that campus, says Fromhold. “Medical students, nurses and physical therapists will be taught in the same
classroom. Hackensack UMC Mountainside will have an even
more academic focus, and graduates can do their residencies in
network, so they stay and practice in New Jersey.” ➤
A state-of-the-art nuclear medicine camera
helps physicians diagnose diseases.
A pharmacist compounds IV mixtures in a
clean room.
Both patients and their families can rest comfortably in newly renovated maternity rooms.
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