Hackensack Meridian Health Officially Opens It’s $24 Million State-of-the-Art Carrier Behavioral Health at Raritan Bay Medical Center

Hackensack Meridian Health, New Jersey’s largest and most comprehensive healthcare network, is proud to officially open the brand-new, expanded Carrier Behavioral Health at Raritan Bay Medical Center. This is part of Hackensack Meridian Health’s $24 million investment into the community.

“Raritan Bay Medical Center has provided high quality, compassionate care to the Perth Amboy community for more than a century. The need for Behavioral Health services in our communities is greater than ever. This investment will serve our patients now and into the future,” said Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health.

“We are excited to officially open our expanded 81 bed center of excellence to the public”, said Patricia Carroll, FACHE, president, chief hospital executive, Raritan Bay and Old Bridge Medical Center’s. “With the growing need for Behavioral Health services around the state, this will be a new soothing and healing environment for our patients, and the communities we serve.”

Over the summer, Carrier Behavioral Health at Raritan Bay Medical Center expanded its reach by offering Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), an option for people with treatment resistant depression and other psychiatric disorders that have not been satisfactorily treated by medications and other therapies.

“The expansion of this facility will provide more world-class care for the community,” said Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin. “Access to in-patient mental health and behavioral services is a priority for our state and I’m so pleased to see more of that need met here at Raritan Bay with the expertise of Carrier.”

“New Jersey Human Services has long supported the goal of compassionate care close to home, recognizing how important it is for people experiencing a crisis to connect with support quickly and safely,” said Department of Human Services Commissioner Sarah Adelman. “The State budget investment in this project is an example of the Murphy Administration’s commitment to increasing access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment, and this expansion will help so many more residents of Perth Amboy and Middlesex County get excellent care in their own backyard.”

“My colleagues and I on the Board of County Commissioners strongly believe that the nationwide behavioral health crisis is one of the defining issues of our time, and we are committed to facing it head-on,” said Middlesex County Commissioner Director Ronald G. Rios. “The wellbeing of our County residents is crucial, and this 81-bed inpatient unit will make a tremendous difference for those who are struggling with behavioral health issues and substance use disorders.”

“We’re thrilled to open this new unit at Raritan Bay! Combining Carrier Clinic’s unprecedented expertise with Raritan Bay Medical Center’s expanded behavioral health services, programs and facility, make this an incredible partnership for the needs of our patients,” said Don Parker, president, Behavioral Health Care Transformation Service, Hackensack Meridian Health.

Carrier Behavioral Health at Raritan Bay Medical Center is a regional hub of the nationally recognized Hackensack Meridian Carrier Clinic. The Behavioral Health program at Raritan Bay Medical Center is the first in the Hackensack Meridian Health network to receive the Carrier Behavioral Health designation. The Medical Center’s behavioral health services include specialized programs and units for adults, older adults, neuromodulation (ECT) services and care for individuals with both mental health and substance use disorder diagnoses (referred to as dual-diagnoses).

In addition to the new Carrier Behavioral Health at Raritan Bay Medical Center, Raritan Bay is a full service, acute care hospital that has many different inpatient and outpatient units, ranging from the Emergency Department, Maternity, ICU, Cardiac, Long Term Acute Care Hospital, Bariatrics, Center for Wound Healing, radiology, Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, etc.

About Hackensack Meridian Raritan Bay Medical Center and Old Bridge Medical Center:

For more than 100 years, Hackensack Meridian Raritan Bay Medical Center and Old Bridge Medical Center have provided a full continuum of health care services to residents of Central Jersey. Raritan Bay Medical Center is one of less than one percent of hospitals in the world to achieve Magnet Recognition, the “Gold Standard” for nursing practice, quality, and safety in patient care, four times. In 2019, U.S. News & World Report ranked Raritan Bay Medical Center as high performing in Orthopedics, Nephrology, COPD and Heart Failure.

The medical center is a New Jersey state designated Primary Stroke Center and recipient of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award, recognizing optimal treatment of stroke patients. Raritan Bay is also a recipient of the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval and the AHA’s Heart Check Mark for Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers and the AHA’s Mission: Lifeline® EMS Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award recognizing high-quality care of patients experiencing a severe heart attack.

For more information, visit www.rbmc.org.

SOURCE; Hackensack Meridian Health