[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 152 (Tuesday, October 1, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E993]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF OCEAN UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER IN
BRICK, NEW JERSEY
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HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH
of new jersey
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, October 1, 2024
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the
40th Anniversary of the Hackensack Meridian Ocean University Medical
Center in Brick, N.J., located in the Fourth Congressional District of
New Jersey.
On July 4, 1984, the medical center opened its doors as Brick
Hospital, part of the Northern Ocean Hospital System. Its roots go back
even farther, due to its ties to Point Pleasant Hospital, which opened
in 1918 with four rooms in the home of Dr. Frank Denniston. Point
Pleasant Hospital became part of the North Ocean Hospital System in the
1980s, growing to 120 acute care beds by 1984 and serving patients with
200 physicians and 400 staff. Point Pleasant Hospital had 17,000
emergency room visits and 3,600 admissions.
Today the hospital boasts 317 licensed beds, another 40
rehabilitation beds, nearly 800 physicians and 2,600 staff, plus over
120 residents and fellows. Admissions have risen to over 12,500 per
year, while emergency department visits have now topped 85,700 in the
past year, including visits to its Ocean Care Center in Point Pleasant
Beach.
The hospital takes pride in its pursuit of excellence in nursing
care, as seen via its distinction as a Magnet-credentialed facility,
enjoying numerous recognitions for quality care in areas such as joint
replacement, stroke, colon cancer surgeries. The hospital leadership
has worked hard to offer advanced care, including heart and vascular
services, orthopedics and advanced surgical procedures with cutting-
edge robotic technology and both inpatient and outpatient
rehabilitation.
The hospital's pursuit to deliver the best care possible was rewarded
in 2021 with a prestigious ``University'' designation, which
acknowledges exceptional teaching programs in the contributions to
delivering high quality care.
Ocean University Medical Center acute care service is enhanced by its
Johnson Rehabilitation Institute, which helps to meet the hospital's
goal to provide comprehensive inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation
right on campus. That convenience aims at helping people regain their
independence and reach their highest possible degree of functionality
as quickly as possible following illness or injury.
The accolades over those 40 years are too numerous to mention, but I
recognize just a few of the latest the hospital has achieved: U.S. News
& World Report 2024-25 recognition as a High Performing hospital in
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, colon cancer surgery, hip
replacement, knee replacement, leukemia, lymphoma & myeloma, and lung
cancer surgery; The ``A'' Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade in the Spring
2023 Hospital Safety Grade report; The American College of Cardiology
(ACC) 2023 Platinum Performance Award-National Cardiovascular Data
Registry for Chest Pain-MI; 2022 certification by the ACC for HeartCARE
designation; The Healthgrades' 2023 Patient Safety Excellence Award,
placing it among the top 5 percent of all short-term acute care
hospitals reporting patient safety; Recognition by the American Heart
Association in its 2023 Get With The Guidelines awards program, earning
Gold Plus Achievement Awards in the categories of: Target: Stroke Honor
Roll Elite; Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll; and Target: Heart
Failure, and; Recognition by Practice Greenhealth in 2023 as a Top 25
Hospital in the nation for Environmental Excellence.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to say that the future of Ocean University
Medical Center looks bright. The hospital is now a member of the
Hackensack Meridian Health Network, with 18 hospitals and more than
36,000 team members, 7,000 physicians and 500 patient care locations.
With the recent completion of the $19.5 million Dr. Robert H. and
Mary Ellen Harris Heart and Vascular Center, Ocean University Medical
Center now boasts one of the Garden State's most advanced centers for
heart and vascular diagnosis and treatment.
Additionally, the hospital hosts a variety of local classes and
programs to help people quit smoking, manage diabetes, treat stroke and
brain injuries, identify heart attack risks and prevention methods,
lower risk of falls, take advantage of health screenings or with other
quality of life matters.
These programs complement the many health care services and accolades
I just cited, and together they combine to help the hospital deliver on
its mission of providing quality healthcare, and simultaneously
developing students, residents, fellows, faculty and an overall health
care environment that strives for the highest possible quality of
healthcare for all patients.
Their approach is unique because it utilizes the best components of
different, evidence-based teaching methods, and structures curriculum
specifically to give students what they need to excel in today's
modern, technically demanding clinical settings.
Mr. Speaker, you, I and many of our colleagues in the U.S. House of
Representatives host the annual Congressional Art Competition for high
schools in congressional districts across America.
It is with pride that I note Ocean University Medical Center hosted
my annual Congressional High School Art Competition in 2023. In 2025,
the hospital will once again host art students, their teachers and
parents. The 2023 month-long exhibition was so warmly welcomed by
staff, patients and visitors that I am eager for the show to open in
the Spring of 2025.
Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, October 5, 2024, the leaders and staff at
Ocean University Medical Center will officially celebrate four decades
of delivering health care to the Brick, Point Pleasant and surrounding
communities . . . truly a noteworthy accomplishment in which they
should take great pride.
I congratulate President and Chief Hospital Executive Frank Citara,
the Board of Trustees, the Foundation, the entire medical staff and all
employees of the Ocean University Medical Center family on reaching
this milestone.
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