RWJBarnabas, Rutgers preview Melchiorre Cancer Center (photos)

The basics:

• RWJBarnabas previews new Melchiorre Cancer Center in Livingston
• Part of $1.5B statewide oncology expansion strategy
• Facility to feature advanced imaging, radiation, infusion suites
• Opening targeted for mid-June following phased rollout

RWJBarnabas Health is expanding its oncology treatment footprint in New Jersey. The health care system plans to debut a major new outpatient hub, designed to bring cutting-edge care closer to where patients live — and to redefine what that experience looks and feels like.

During an April 27 virtual briefing attended by NJBIZ, officials from RWJBarnabas Health, Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center and Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey offered a preview of the Melchiorre Cancer Center at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston. The five-story, 137,000-square-foot facility is targeting a mid-June grand opening.

Leaders noted the center has already begun a phased “soft launch.” Radiation oncology services went live earlier this month as the broader facility prepares for full occupancy.

The center will serve as the northern anchor of a broader, statewide oncology strategy and network that also includes the new Jack & Sheryl Morris Cancer Center in New Brunswick and the upcoming Specialty & Cancer Care Center at the Vogel Medical Campus in Tinton Falls, scheduled to open in early 2027.

Part of a bigger plan

Dr. Steven Libutti is director of Rutgers Cancer Institute and senior vice president of oncology services at RWJBarnabas Health. He framed the project as part of a sweeping effort to decentralize access to top-tier cancer care.

“This is really part of a much broader strategy and a much broader plan,” he said during the briefing. “Many of you heard me talk about the fact that cancer doesn’t travel well, and our entire mission at RWJBarnabas Health and the Rutgers Cancer Institute has been to bring cancer care closer to home.

“And not just cancer care, but the exceptional level of cancer care that one would expect to receive from the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. And so, we like to think of this as many doors leading to one program,” he continued. “All of these facilities are part of the Rutgers Cancer Institute and the RWJBarnabas Health oncology service line.

“The Melchiorre is the manifestation of a commitment by RWJBarnabas Health … And the reason being that we feel it’s important that patients don’t have to travel out of state, across bridges and tunnels, etc., for what they perceive as exceptional care.”

$1.5B effort to expand services statewide

The Melchiorre Cancer Center is part of a more than $1.5 billion investment by RWJBarnabas Health to expand oncology services statewide. The goal is to ensure that no New Jersey resident is far from high-quality, research-driven cancer care. Philanthropy has also supported the the approximately $225 million facility, including a $30 million gift from Andrea and Anthony Melchiorre.

Rick Davis, president and CEO of Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, outlined the scope of the investment and what patients can expect when the facility opens. “The Melchiorre is a five-story, roughly 137,000 square feet facility, major investment on our campus,” he said. “It’s got 52 exam rooms, 40 private infusion suites. We’ve got a dedicated short and extended stay treatment space within the building. And it has got in mind a design to enhance delivery of care. But I think more importantly, the patient experience.”

Davis emphasized that the new building consolidates services that are currently spread across multiple locations into “one seamless, coordinated experience.”

Beyond the exam rooms

The Melchiorre’s clinical capacity includes radiation oncology, advanced imaging such as PET-CT and MRI, lab services and an on-site pharmacy. The center’s design offers a strong emphasis on holistic and supportive care. Features include a teaching kitchen, art and music therapy, Reiki services, a wig and prosthetics studio, and a rooftop terrace intended to create a more calming environment for patients undergoing treatment.

Dr. George Raptis, director of oncology services for the northern region for RWJBarnabas Health, highlighted how the design reflects a shift in cancer care delivery to bring everything for patients under one roof.

“We don’t take care of cancer. We take care of people who have cancer,” said Raptis. “To that point, there’s so much more than providing care and caring which I think we do where we are now. When we move into the new center, the whole experience is built around the patient experience, because we also have to make them feel better about their journey, and actually, the time that they spend there.

We don’t take care of cancer. We take care of people who have cancer.
– Dr. George Raptis, director of oncology services for the northern region, RWJBarnabas Health

“It should be therapeutic – and not waiting to be seen by a physician. And I think that’s accomplished at the Melchiorre. When you first walk in, it doesn’t look like a waiting room – but actually a living room. That was intentional to soften the experience and make it feel less institutional.”

State of the art

Leaders also touted how advanced technology will underpin care at the new facility.

“In terms of radiation oncology, the Melchiorre Cancer Center is going to bring some of the most advanced technology to our patients closer to home in New Jersey. There is also radiology in this building. So, radiation oncology is what we use to treat cancer patients,” Dr. Alison Grann, chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, explained. “We see cancer patients and design treatment with X-rays. That’s radiation oncology. Radiology is imaging to look at diagnoses, to monitor how cancer treatments are working.

“So, this center also has a comprehensive radiology suite with PET, CT, MRI, ultrasound, regular X-ray, so the physicians taking care of the patients can be monitoring with the radiologist on site, instead of having to send patients to multiple different locations as patients’ tumors are being treated.”

Take a tour of the Melchiorre Cancer Center:

The facility will also feature an MRI linear accelerator. It marks the second in the system, following the unit’s debut at the Morris Cancer Center, and just the third in the entire state. The technology allows clinicians to visualize tumors in real time and adapt while patients are receiving treatment.

Grann said those capabilities will directly translate into more personalized care.

“We are just so excited that we’re going to be able to make patients’ treatments more specific for what they have,” she said. “And because patients in the region now will have access to this technology, they’re no longer going to need to feel like they need to travel outside of our state. Because we are going to be able to offer the highest quality cancer care with a soft touch.”

Word is getting out

As the system builds its network, officials note demand already outpaces expectations — both within and beyond state lines. Leaders added that patients are already traveling from places such as New York, including Westchester and Long Island, to access specialized care and clinical trials within the system. They expect that trend to accelerate as the Melchiorre and future sites come online.

“I think what we’ve learned from the Morris is we underestimated the untapped need that existed in the state for this level of cancer care,” said Libutti. “And we are going to, I believe, need to plan expansion of physical plant over the next six to 10 years. The Morris has 96 inpatient beds. We have been full to capacity since a week after we opened the inpatient unit in August. Our outpatient activity surpassed our predictions of growth.

“I think we’re going to say the same thing in the Melchiorre,” Libutti continued. He stressed the trend speaks to the demand for care such as this and highlights cancer as a problem in the state. “But that’s why we’re here – to address that problem. And we’re ready to continue expansion to address it.”

‘Lesson learned’

Libutti added: “The lesson learned from the Morris is we probably could have used more space, and I think we’ll be prepared to address that through a variety of tactics for the Melchiorre as well.”

Taken together, the Melchiorre, Morris and Vogel are designed to function as an integrated system. One that reduces the need for patients to leave New Jersey for advanced treatment while increasingly drawing patients from the broader region. The forthcoming opening of the Melchiorre Cancer Center marks the next major benchmark in RWJBH’s broader vision.

As Libutti put it, “We believe our mission is to provide exceptional cancer care for the entire state of New Jersey.”