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Saint Michael's Medical Center |
Saint Michael's Medical Center
268 Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd.
Newark, New Jersey 07102
(973) 877-5000
A 357-bed regional tertiary care, teaching, and research center in the heart of Newark’s main business and educational district, Saint Michael’s has maintained a tradition of excellence since 1867. In that year, the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor, convinced that poor, sick people deserved quality care, founded Saint Michael’s. Today, true to this mission - to minister to those in need according to Christ’s example; to foster the values of love, compassion, justice, and reverence for life; and to support health services that improve or maintain the quality of life - Saint Michael’s serves over 20,000 people annually who cannot afford health services.
Serving the Community
In 1998, Saint Michael’s served 11,764 in-patients and 4,089 Same-Day Surgery patients, while about 44,000 visits were made to its Family Care Center, which provides general and sub-specialty services to adults and children. For example, a 24-hour, on-call pediatric physician service handles about 10,000 patient visits a year. And the Emergency Department handles over 25,000 visits annually.
Medical Staff and Medical Education
Saint Michael’s physicians represent a broad range of specialties. Involved in major research and widely published, many hold academic posts at various medical schools. The Medical Center’s 230 active physicians practice primarily in northern and central New Jersey, in Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Passaic, and Union counties.
Saint Michael’s is a major teaching affiliate of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Seton Hall University School of Graduate Medical Education, the New England College of Osteopathic Medicine and Saint George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada.
Saint Michael’s offers residencies in cardiology, critical care, gastroenterology, hematology/oncology, infectious diseases, nephrology, rheumatology, pulmonary medicine, podiatry, and obstetrics/gynecology. Over 150 medical students, interns, residents, and fellows rotate through Saint Michael’s daily. The Medical Center also has clinical training affiliations with the Seton Hall University College of Nursing, Rutgers University School of Nursing, Bloomfield College School of Nursing, Felician College, Holy Name Hospital School of Nursing, Essex County College, and Long Island University School of Respiratory Therapy.
History and Growth
Once Saint Michael’s Hospital had been founded with 13 beds in a house on Bleecker Street (near its current location), demand quickly escalated. In 1871, a new building was constructed for 150 patients, and Saint Michael’s was officially incorporated by the State Legislature. Soon, outpatient services were added, and were copied throughout New Jersey. Next, a women’s hospital was built, and, by 1895, Saint Michael’s expanded again, doubling its beds. In 1914, 127 beds were added in another new wing.
In 1930, a nursing school was created, and in 1942 a five-story maternity wing. Bed capacity peaked at 500 in 1959. Meanwhile, as Saint Michael’s pioneered cardiac services, it greatly expanded its medical staff, facilities, and support services in many specialties.
Affiliating with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in medical education in 1968, Saint Michael’s Hospital also officially changed its name, to Saint Michael’s Medical Center, to accurately reflect its scope of services. A new pavilion for pediatric, stroke, and psychiatric patients was added in 1971, and was named for Nicholas Antonius, the Director of Cardiology who had pioneered cardiac services.
In 1980, Saint Michael’s joined with two other archdiocesan owned facilities -- Saint James Hospital in Newark and Saint Mary’s Hospital in Orange. Initially called the Health Corporation of the Archdiocese of Newark, it was renamed Cathedral Healthcare System in 1987. (There now are two more facilities: Hospital Center at Orange in Orange and Columbus Hospital in Newark.) In 1993, in reflection of its commitment to the community it serves, Saint Michael’s spent $100,000 million on a new, six-story building and renovation of its physical plant. Today, Saint Michael’s has annual operating costs of $145 million and 1,550 employees.
Saint Michael’s was the first hospital in Newark and/or New Jersey to introduce the following services: