Hackensack Meridian Health opens comprehensive health and wellness center alongside NJ Transit’s Metropark Station
Hackensack Meridian Health has opened a comprehensive health and wellness center alongside New Jersey Transit’s (NJ Transit) Metropark Station. The health and wellness center offers patients the flexibility to pop in for an appointment before commuting to work or after commuting home in the evening.
“Hackensack Meridian Health continues to innovate new ways to deliver high-quality care and expand access to care for our patients,” said Hackensack Meridian Health CEO Robert Garrett. “We are the first in the country to bring comprehensive health services to a major mass transit hub, revolutionizing where and how healthcare is delivered to reach more people. Patients who regularly attend preventive doctor’s visits have considerably better health outcomes. By making it easier for people to visit the doctor, we are improving the health of our communities. We expect it will be a model emulated across the country.”
Services will include advanced imaging, urgent care plus, primary care, surgical specialties, medical specialties, retail pharmacy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, rehabilitation, phlebotomy and more.
"The new Health & Wellness Center at Metropark is exactly the kind of smart, forward-looking investment our state needs," said New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill. "By locating this center steps from a major transit hub and incorporating new housing, we are advancing transit-oriented development that makes it easier for residents to live, work and access care without relying on a car, strengthening the connection between healthy communities and sustainable infrastructure."
The Health & Wellness Center at Metropark expands on Hackensack Meridian Health’s broader effort to better serve patients by bringing together key network physicians and ambulatory services under one roof in easily accessible neighborhoods. In the last several years, Hackensack Meridian Health has opened outpatient care center locations across the state, including in Eatontown, Clark, Clifton and Paramus.
“Metropark Health & Wellness Center’s convenience offers patients who depend on mass transit easy access to a variety of preventative medical appointments and specialized services all under one roof,” said Hackensack Meridian Health COO Mark Sparta. “Upon arriving at the Metropark station, patients are able to ‘walk-in’ for blood work, imaging, urgent care and other appointments and then board the next train or bus to their destination. The seamless model of care enables patients to schedule an appointment early in the morning before heading to work, or later in the day on their way home. Metropark’s Health & Wellness Center is a shining example of HMH’s blueprint for health, which creates a dense network of access that leaves preventable disease nowhere left to hide.”
The health and wellness center is the first part in a broader plan by the state to redevelop Metropark Station and transform the area into a walkable destination for transportation, retail, living, working and receiving healthcare. When complete, the project will have housing, office space, retail space and the health and wellness center all within steps of the transit hub for both NJ Transit and Amtrak.
“Hackensack Meridian’s new building at Metropark Station represents one of the first products delivered under NJ Transit’s recently released LAND Plan: Leveraging our Assets for Non-farebox Dollars,” said NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri. “It is symbolic that we are just a week removed from welcoming 300-plus real estate executives and developers to an open house offering sites for development. Anchored by our Metropark Train Station, this project serves as a model for what’s possible under public private partnerships that benefit everyone from the local through the state level.”
The Metropark complex is being developed by DOR, a partnership of the Dinallo family, Onyx Equities and Russo Development, to reimagine the Woodbridge community with housing and retail. Hackensack Meridian Health is also moving its network headquarters into the upper floors of the Iselin building, allowing the network to bring all its corporate employees previously spread across several buildings under one roof for greater convenience and collaboration.
“This will be the first time since the merger that formed Hackensack Meridian Health ten years ago, all our network non-clinical employees will be in the same building steps away from each other,” said Hackensack Meridian Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer Jose Lozano. “The building is designed with collaboration in mind, with ample meeting and social spaces for brainstorming and cooperation. We are excited to give our team members the space to do their best work in a beautiful environment offering easy access to quality transit, dining, retail and of course, our healthcare services.”
Moving Hackensack Meridian Health headquarters directly to the Amtrak train station is also expected to allow Hackensack Meridian Health to further recruit top talent from across the entire Northeast Corridor, with employees easily able to commute from major cities, including New York and Philadelphia, along with its central location within New Jersey.
“Woodbridge is proud to be the new home of Hackensack Meridian Health,” said Woodbridge Township Mayor John McCormac. “Our administration worked productively with NJ Transit, the DOR team and the construction team, led by Terminal Construction, to assure that the redevelopment of Metropark resulted in a unique asset that serves Woodbridge and also derives unique benefits from being here. We look forward to enjoying, with HMH, its success and service to our residents."