Best Selling Authors Highlight Teen Health Event at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Friday, April 15, 2005

New Brunswick – Three New Jersey natives who wrote of their journey from the mean streets of Newark to medical school spoke to approximately 350 local high school seniors today at a teen health event offered by Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

Sampson Davis, MD, Rameck Hunt, MD, and George Jenkins, DMD, authors of the best-selling book, The Pact, gave the keynote address at “Taking Charge: Beginning Today,” a daylong symposium focusing on teen health issues held by the hospital for the senior classes of St. Peter’s High School, New Brunswick High School, Highland Park High School and New Brunswick Health Sciences Technology High School.

At the event, students participated in workshops examining the connection between lifestyle choices and good health. Relationships, personal power and financial planning were some of the topics discussed in the workshops. In addition, the students watched a “Dress for Success” fashion show given by the youngest staff members at the hospital, emphasizing the importance of how to dress for a job or school interview.

The annual “Taking Charge: Beginning Today” event is sponsored by the Women’s Wellness and Healthcare Connection at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) 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. RWJUH is the first hospital in the nation to implant the AbioCor self-contained artificial heart since the device received FDA approval in 2006. RWJUH is one of only three sites in the nation approved to offer this groundbreaking technology. 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 heart and heart surgery (No. 36), cancer (No. 40) respiratory disorders (No. 50), according to U.S.News & World Report’s 2009 ranking of “America’s Best Hospitals.” The American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer has rated RWJUH among the nation's best comprehensive cancer centers. The Leapfrog Group rated RWJUH 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 RWJUH as one of the top 10 hospitals in the nation for clinical quality. RWJUH is also a recipient of the prestigious Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence for more than 10 consecutive years. Visit us online at www.rwjuh.edu.

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