Children’s Hospital Dedicates Pediatric Infectious Disease and Immunology Center Made Possible By Gift From Bristol-Myers Squibb

Friday, November 30, 2007

New Brunswick, NJ – The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School today dedicated the last of three centers of excellence in the treatment of childhood diseases – The Bristol-Myers Squibb Pediatric Infectious Disease and Immunology Center.

“Our hospital is extremely proud of our longstanding partnership with Bristol-Myers Squibb,” said Stephen K. Jones, president and chief executive officer of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. “Thanks to their generous support, our children's hospital is helping families confront some of the most serious health threats facing children.”

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Pediatric Infectious Disease and Immunology Center will provide treatment and research of children’s infectious diseases and immune system disorders, including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, respiratory infections, hepatitis and meningitis. This center adds another specialty to the growing children’s health campus consisting of The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the Child Health Institute of New Jersey at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital.

“We are very excited at this opportunity to expand our infectious disease and immunology services with this new center of excellence, and we couldn’t do it without the support of Bristol-Myers Squibb,” said Patricia Whitley-Williams, MD, professor and interim chair of the Department of Pediatrics at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and physician-in-chief of The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. “Children and families in our state and region will truly benefit from the treatments and research available at the center.”

Last April, Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation awarded a $5 million gift to The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at RWJUH to create three new clinical centers, including this one. The Bristol-Myers Squibb Pediatric Metabolism Center opened last year and addresses pediatric obesity and its related health consequences, and The Bristol-Myers Squibb Pediatric Rheumatology Center, dedicated to the treatment and research of rheumatic diseases in children such as lupus and arthritis, opened this past spring.

“At Bristol-Myers Squibb, we believe that together we can prevail over serious illness,” said Jill DeSimone, senior vice president of the company's U.S. Virology division. “We are committed as a company in the battle against HIV and AIDS here in our community and throughout the world, and we stand united with others who are working to improve the lives of children and all people afflicted with this debilitating disease.”

In addition to the opening of The Bristol-Myers Squibb Pediatric Infectious Disease and Immunology Center, today’s event also included a donation of 1,000 children’s books from The HealthCare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ) for the hospital’s Reach Out and Read program. This program provides the families of patients visiting the hospital’s Pediatric AIDS Program and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Follow-up Clinic with children’s books to take home and keep after each visit.

“As a major partner of Reach Out and Read, New Jersey’s pharmaceutical and medical technology companies have made a multi-year commitment to support existing Reach Out and Read sites throughout New Jersey, expand the program to unserved areas of the state and build an infrastructure so the program can grow and serve more children in need,” said HINJ president Bob Franks. “Today we are proud to deliver 1,000 new books in support of the Reach Out and Read program at The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.”

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.

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