Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center is building a $225M cancer center

Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, part of RWJBarnabas Health, broke ground on a new $225 million cancer center. It's slated to open in 2025. This rendering was provided by RWJBarnabas Health.

RWJBarnabas Health in New Jersey says it wants to reimagine cancer care, and the health system is building a new $225 million facility with that goal in mind.

Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, part of RWJBarnabas Health, broke ground on a new cancer center on its Livingston Campus last week. The five-story, 137,000 square-foot building is expected to be finished in 2025.

When completed, the facility will operate as the northern hub for cancer services offered by RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey.

Richard L. Davis, president and CEO of Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, hailed it as a milestone in the transformation of the campus.

“The new Cancer Center at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center will be a regional destination for cancer care, building on the medical center’s long-standing legacy of clinical expertise and compassionate, patient-centered diagnosis and treatment,” Davis said in a statement. “We are celebrating the dawn of a new era in world-class cancer care.”

The renovation of the medical center has been spurred by a $100 million gift by Loen and Toby Cooperman in 2021. The 597-bed facility, formerly known as Saint Barnabas Medical Center, was renamed Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in their honor.

The new cancer center will provide medical, surgical and radiation services. It will feature 52 exam rooms, 46 private infusion rooms, eight treatment spaces for short stays, and six treatment spaces for extended stays.

In addition, the new center will offer other services to help patients, such as a patient wellness center with exercise, yoga and music programs; a fitting studio for prosthetics and wigs; holistic medicine, including reiki and art therapy; and a teaching kitchen focused on nutrition. (Here's video on the project by RWJBarnabas Health; the story continues below.)

Michael Scoppetuolo, medical director of the Cancer Center at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, said the new facility is being designed with patients in mind. He said it offers “a great opportunity to expand cancer care in New Jersey.”

“A cancer diagnosis is life-changing, and for many patients and their families, it is the beginning of a long and sometimes daunting journey,” Scoppetuolo said in a statement. “To that end, I am excited about the research and the top-quality patient care that will take place at this new center. We have an extraordinary medical staff and access to clinical trials and research which sets us apart from other institutions in the state and puts us at the leading edge.”

Alison Grann, chair of the hospital’s department of radiation oncology, said the new cancer center will be "a game changer."

The medical center already offers “some some of the most advanced and comprehensive care in the state," Gran said.

““This new building will provide the physical environment to match the clinical excellence,” Grann said in a statement. “This best-in-class, freestanding cancer center will provide the highest-quality science, treatment, and psychosocial services available, distinguishing it from other centers in the region.”

RWJBarnabas is one of New Jersey’s largest hospital organizations. The system operates 12 acute care hospitals, a pediatric rehabilitation hospital, and a host of other sites offering healthcare services. RWJBarnabas employs 37,000 workers and 9,000 physicians.

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