Chicago, IL and West Orange, NJ, December 7, 2020 – Barry H. Ostrowsky, President and Chief Executive Officer of RWJBarnabas Health, the largest, most comprehensive academic health care system in New Jersey, was recognized by Modern Healthcare as one of 2020’s 100 Most Influential People.
This prestigious recognition program acknowledges and honors individuals who are deemed by their peers and the senior editors of Modern Healthcare to be the most influential individuals in the industry, in terms of leadership and impact. Mr. Ostrowsky was also included on the list in 2019.
"This year will be remembered for more than the COVID-19 pandemic and election. It is a year that reminded us of the importance of the frontline healthcare worker and the power of collaboration. Every member of this class found ways to help their organization or the government or each other maneuver through unprecedented hardships. The result was often groundbreaking,” commented Aurora Aguilar, Modern Healthcare editor. “Modern Healthcare and our readers selected the 100 most innovative and resilient candidates…which this year comprised a record number of women…who influenced the course that healthcare took during a global pandemic, continued to press forward amidst uncertainty, and used current events like the election, racial injustice and public health as an inspiration to do better. Congratulations to our honorees."
As the leader of a health care system with a service area covering nine counties and five million people, Mr. Ostrowsky has had an enduring impact on the health and wellness of the greater New Jersey community. While this year the healthcare system faced unprecedented challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Ostrowsky’s unwavering leadership and steady management was a familiar guidepost in the health system where he has been a visible and influential executive for nearly three decades.
The system’s public-private partnership with Rutgers University creates New Jersey’s largest academic health system, aligning the two institutions’ education, research and clinical activities, including those at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey – the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, and forming one of the largest medical groups in the United States.
Mr. Ostrowsky leads an all-encompassing strategic effort called Ending Racism, Together, designed to address systemic racism and promote an anti-racist culture throughout the system and all the communities it serves.
“This year more than ever I am proud to represent the work of my colleagues who bring the best of themselves each day to serve our communities across our system,” said Mr. Ostrowsky. “This honor is theirs as well as mine. I again thank Modern Healthcare for this wonderful recognition.”
Mr. Ostrowsky joined Saint Barnabas Medical Center, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, in 1991 and assumed his present position in 2016, when Robert Wood Johnson Health System and Barnabas Health merged to become RWJBarnabas Health. Mr. Ostrowsky received a BA from Rutgers University and a JD from the University of Tennessee School of Law.
Inclusion in the prestigious 100 Most Influential People list is one of the industry’s highest honors.
ABOUT RWJBARNABAS HEALTH
RWJBarnabas Health is the largest, most comprehensive academic health care system in New Jersey, with a service area covering nine counties with five million people. The system includes eleven acute care hospitals; three acute care children’s hospitals and a leading pediatric rehabilitation hospital with a network of outpatient centers, a freestanding 100-bed behavioral health center, two trauma centers, a satellite emergency department, ambulatory care centers, geriatric centers, the state’s largest behavioral health network, comprehensive home care and hospice programs, fitness and wellness centers, retail pharmacy services, a medical group, multi-site imaging centers and an accountable care organization.
RWJBarnabas Health’s partnership with Rutgers University creates New Jersey’s largest academic health care system. The collaboration aligns RWJBarnabas Health with Rutgers’ education, research and clinical activities, including those at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey - the state's only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center - and Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care.
For information on the Modern Healthcare 100 Most Influential People Awards Program, contact:
Jodi Sniegocki, Education and Events Director
jsniegocki@modernhealthcare.com
312.649.5459
Ellen L. Greene, Vice President Strategic Corporate Communications, RWJBarnabas Health
ellen.greene@RWJBH.org
973.322.4018; cell 973-220-1321