$500,000 in Meal Reimbursements Awarded to Hackensack Meridian Health to Feed Frontline Caregivers and Support Local Restaurants

Edison, NJ – February 1, 2022 – In November 2021, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA or Authority) accepted Hackensack Meridian Health into Phase 2 of its Sustain and Serve NJ program (the “Program”), which reimburses the organization for team member meal purchases from local restaurants.

Hackensack Meridian Health will be reimbursed up to $500,000 for meals purchased from approved restaurants through March 31, 2022. The NJEDA awarded over $20 million to grantees statewide through Phase 2 of Sustain and Serve NJ.

“Our caregivers have been working unbelievably hard since the start of the pandemic,” said Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, CEO, Hackensack Meridian Health. “Acceptance into the NJEDA Sustain and Serve NJ program means that we can continue to provide them with nutritious meals as they work, and has the added benefit of supporting local restaurants who have struggled during this time. This program is just one additional way that the State of New Jersey has supported Hackensack Meridian Health, and our fellow health care networks, and we are thankful for this support of our clinicians and community businesses.”

News of this additional reimbursement comes on the heels of the nearly $227,000 already awarded to Hackensack Meridian Health in Phase 1 of the Program to reimburse the purchase of bulk team member meals. The funding for Phase 2 of Sustain and Serve NJ is part of the $235 million package of COVID relief signed into law by Governor Phil Murphy in June to help small businesses affected by the pandemic. The first phase of the Program awarded more than $14 million to 28 organizations across the state, resulting in the purchase of more than 1.5 million meals from more than 340 participating restaurants.

Governor Phil Murphy recently committed $10 million of American Rescue Plan funding to create Phase 3 of Sustain and Serve NJ. With this latest round of funding, which brings total funding for the three phases of the program to nearly $45 million, the program is on track to support the purchase of 4.5 million meals from over 400 restaurants in all 21 counties. 

“Sustain and Serve NJ, which was created by Governor Murphy as a way to support local restaurants affected by COVID-19, has grown into an innovative program that is impacting businesses and residents in every corner of our state,” said Tim Sullivan, CEO, NJEDA. “It’s heartening to know that Hackensack Meridian Health is using their funds to help restaurants in their community while also nourishing heroes of this pandemic – the health care workers who provide care to members of their community every single day.” To make a gift in support of COVID-19 relief at Hackensack Meridian Health, please visit Give.HackensackMeridianHealth.org/GiveNow.

About Hackensack Meridian Health

Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the largest, 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 17 hospitals from Bergen to Ocean counties, which includes three academic medical centers – Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, JFK Medical Center in Edison; two children’s hospitals - Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital in Hackensack, K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital in Neptune; nine community hospitals – Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair, Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, and Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin; a behavioral health hospital – Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead; and two rehabilitation hospitals - JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison and Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Brick.

Additionally, the network has more than 500 patient care locations throughout the state which include 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, urgent care centers and physician practice locations. Hackensack Meridian Health has more than 36,000 team members, and 7,000 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 more top-ranked hospitals than anyone in New Jersey, as recognized by U.S. News & World Report. Hackensack University Medical Center is the only hospital in New Jersey with the #1 adult and children’s hospital rankings. 

The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, the first private medical school in New Jersey in more than 50 years, welcomed its first class of students in 2018 to its campus in 

Nutley and Clifton. The Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI), housed in a fully renovated state-of-the-art facility, seeks to translate current innovations in science to improve clinical outcomes for patients with cancer, infectious diseases and other life-threatening and disabling conditions.

Additionally, the network partnered with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to find more cures for cancer faster while ensuring that patients have access to the highest quality, most individualized cancer care when and where they need it.

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. To learn more, visit www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org.