Carrier Clinic Signs Affiliation Agreement with The Robert Wood Johnson Health Network

Friday, October 15, 2004

Belle Mead, NJ - The Carrier Clinic and The Robert Wood Johnson Health Network have signed an affiliation agreement linking New Jersey's largest private non-profit behavioral healthcare provider with the Network's extensive system of hospitals and health centers, including Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.

The affiliation, announced at an event today at the Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead, creates a contractual framework for closer clinical integration, more efficient use of resources and new educational initiatives between Carrier and Network hospitals. At the same time, the Carrier Clinic will remain a separate entity, maintaining its name and its governance structure under a non-profit board of trustees.

"Being part of the Network means Carrier becomes part of a forum through which participants set benchmarks and goals, share best practices and meet objectives," said Andrew Greene, Chief Executive Officer of The Robert Wood Johnson Health Network.

"This affiliation allows for collaboration of ideas and medical/psychiatric expertise. We can only begin to envision how our shared resources can lead to enhanced quality services for our patients," said C. Richard Sarle, Carrier Clinic's President and Chief Executive Officer.

"Carrier Clinic's relationship with The Robert Wood Johnson Health Network encompasses a joint vision of education, learning and development for the benefit of patient care within a comprehensive service network," said Allan Clelland, Chairman of the Board for Carrier Clinic.

The Robert Wood Johnson Health Network is a financially and clinically integrated network of medical institutions dedicated to improving the quality of patient care. The Network also creates operating efficiencies that lower costs and speaks with one voice in negotiations with insurers.

"Having Carrier as part of the Robert Wood Johnson Health Network gives Network hospitals more options," said Harvey Holzberg, President and CEO of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the Network's flagship hospital, and Chairman of The Robert Wood Johnson Health Network.

Through its Physician Coordinating Council, which represents the medical leadership of each member institution, the Network provides a forum for sharing best practices and clinical performance information, and for developing strategies to improve care.

The Network is made up of eight hospitals, one medical school--the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School--four Federally Qualified Health Centers and a network of long-term care facilities.

Carrier Clinic, a private, not-for-profit behavioral healthcare system, specializes in psychiatric and addiction treatment. Carrier's system includes a 281-bed inpatient psychiatric hospital, a 32-bed detoxification and rehabilitation center, a 78-bed adolescent residential facility, and a fully accredited middle/high school for students classified as emotionally disturbed.

The Robert Wood Johnson Health Network includes:

About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Selected as one of four hospitals nationwide to offer the world's first self-contained implantable artificial heart, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.rwjuh.edu) is a 600-bed academic medical center and the principal hospital of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, NJ. Robert Wood Johnson is an innovative leader in advancing state-of-the-art care in medicine. Its Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, and women's and children's care including The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.bmsch.org). The hospital is also a Level 1 Trauma Center and serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness.

The hospital has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is ranked among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for both heart and heart surgery and respiratory disorders, according to U.S.News & World Report's 2008 ranking of "America's Best Hospitals." The American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer has rated Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital among the nation's best comprehensive cancer centers. The Leapfrog Group rated Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital as one of the 50 exceptional U.S. hospitals, as published in Consumers Digest magazine. Harvard University researchers, in a study commissioned by The Commonwealth Fund, identified Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital as one of the top 10 hospitals in the nation for clinical quality. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is also a recipient of the prestigious Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence for more than 10 consecutive years.

Attention members of the media: For more information on this release, please contact the Department of Public Relations (732) 937-8521.


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