Robert and Laura Garrett provide $2.65 million endowment for Chair for the School of Medicine Dean

Dr. Stanton was recognized for her academic achievements, excellence in medical education and outstanding contributions to pediatric medicine, which include having consulted for the World Bank, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.

"Laura and I are thrilled to create this endowment to recognize the highest standards required in a leader of our medical school,'' said Robert C. Garrett, co-CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health. "Dr. Stanton has practiced with distinction as a physician and academic and will continue to bring the highest standards in medical education to the next generation of physicians.''

"Dr. Stanton's commitment to the health of women and children, in the U.S. and in some of the most challenging corners of the globe, exemplifies the compassion and spirit in which this new school is created,'' said Laura C. Garrett, founder of Realtime Nutrition.

The new medical school – the first private medical school to open in New Jersey in 50 years – is located at the former Hoffmann-LaRoche site in Nutley and Clifton and is scheduled to welcome its first class next year.

"I am so grateful to be the first guardian of the Robert C. and Laura C. Garrett Endowed Chair for the School of Medicine Dean and for all that it stands,'' said Dr. Stanton. "Through my stewardship, I vow to cherish this great honor.''

Before assuming this role, Dr. Stanton served in leadership roles for 14 years at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan, where she had been vice dean for research for the School of Medicine from 2011-2016, chair of the Department of Pediatrics and pediatrician in chief at the Children's Hospital of Michigan from 2002-2011. She also served as president of University Pediatrics from 2002-2012.

"Bob and Laura truly understand the magnitude of endowing an academic chair and were the first donors to make a gift supporting the medical school on this level,'' said Jon Fitzgerald, president and chief development officer at the Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation.

Dr. Stanton lived and worked with her family in Bangladesh from 1983 to 1988 —where she served as a health consultant to the World Bank and the International Center for Diarrheal Diseases Research, and as director of a community-based research and service program designed to help women and children in the slums of Dhaka.  

An author of more than 300 peer-reviewed articles, Dr. Stanton has served as an editor of the "Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics," along with many other journals and books. Among many local, national and international advisory roles, she was a member of the Advisory Board of the National Institutes of Health's Fogarty International Center and was president of the Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs. 

ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH
Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care. Hackensack Meridian Health comprises 13 hospitals, including two academic medical centers, two children's hospitals and nine community hospitals, physician practices, more than 120 ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, fitness and wellness centers, rehabilitation centers, and urgent care and after-hours centers. Hackensack Meridian Health has 28,000 team members, more than 6,000 physicians and is a distinguished leader in health care philanthropy, committed to the health and well-being of the communities it serves.

The Network's notable distinctions include having one of only five major academic medical centers in the nation to receive Healthgrades America's 50 Best Hospitals Award for five or more consecutive years, the number one hospital in New Jersey as ranked by U.S. News and World Report, consistently achieving Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, recipient of the John M. Eisenberg Award for Patient Safety and Quality from The Joint Commission and the National Quality Forum, a six-time recipient of Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For," one of the "20 Best Workplaces in Health Care" in the nation, and the number one "Best Place to Work for Women." Hackensack Meridian Health is a member of AllSpire Health Partners, an interstate consortium of leading health systems, to focus on the sharing of best practices in clinical care and achieving efficiencies.

The hospitals of Hackensack Meridian Health include: academic medical centers – Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune; children's hospitals – Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital in Hackensack, K. Hovnanian Children's Hospital in Neptune; community hospitals – Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair, Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin, Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge, and Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood.

For additional information, please visit www.HackensackMeridianHealth.org.

SOURCE Hackensack Meridian Health

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