1955 to 1985
A New Location, Far-Reaching “Firsts”
1955 - Board of Trustees Select Livingston
A vote to relocate Saint Barnabas Hospital to Old Short Hills Road in Livingston “without delay” decides the issue.
1956 - Name Change Reflects New Scope of Services
Saint Barnabas Hospital will now be known as Saint Barnabas Medical Center, to better display its high quality medical care and broad range of services and new technology.
1956 - New Site Is Purchased
The Board of Trustees votes to begin construction of a 450-bed hospital on a newly acquired 60-acre Livingston site. Based on community need, the plans are expanded to build a 600-bed facility. Ferrenz and Taylor of New York are selected as the architects for the new Medical Center. The William Blanchard Company is hired to construct the building at an eventual cost of $14 million.
1956 - Livingston Rolls Out the Red Carpet
William H. Clark, Mayor of Livingston, welcomes Saint Barnabas Medical Center on behalf of the town’s citizens.
1958 - Abdol H. Islami, M.D., Heads Graduate Medical Education
Attending surgeon Abdol H. Islami, M.D. becomes chairman of the Department of Graduate Medical Education at Saint Barnabas, a post he retains until his untimely death in 1988. By 1986, under his leadership, Saint Barnabas develops nine accredited residencies and becomes a teaching affiliate of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey/New Jersey Medical School (UMDNJ/NJ Medical School).
1961 - New Leaders for Saint Barnabas
Anthony Scala is elected to the Board of Trustees and becomes its president the next year. Mr. Scala oversees the actual construction and operation of the new facility and serves as president until 1974. A. Chester Conrow becomes administrator of Saint Barnabas following the death of predecessor George Schicks, PhD.
1962 - The Honorable Robert Kean Chairs Board
Robert Winthrop Kean is elected chairman of the Saint Barnabas Board of Trustees and serves until 1974.
1962 - Cornerstone Is Laid
The ceremony is attended by Lyndon A. Peer, M.D., president of the Medical Staff; Martin Levin, co-chairman of the Building Committee; Congressman George M. Wallhauser; and a host of other dignitaries.
1963 - First Kidney Dialysis Machine Received
The Essex County Nephrosis League donates the Medical Center’s first kidney dialysis machine and Saint Barnabas is on course to become a recognized leader in the treatment of end-stage renal disease.
1964 - Saint Barnabas Opens its Doors in Livingston
On November 29, 1964, Saint Barnabas Medical Center officially opens with the transfer of 51 patients from the Newark facility and an exciting new era begins. The old hospital property is deeded to the Newark Housing Authority.
1964 - Medical Staff Enjoys Unprecedented Growth
Richard Hopping, M.D., is elected president of the Saint Barnabas Medical Staff and plays an indispensable role in expanding its membership. Through his leadership, many new physicians join the voluntary medical staff.
1965 - First Baby Is Born at New Facility
On January 11, 1965, Saint Barnabas celebrates the birth of Margaret Schlacter, the first baby born in its new Livingston delivery rooms. Mr. and Mrs. Edward Schlacter are the proud parents. John Comerci, M.D., is the attending obstetrician. Between 1940 and 1965, there are 66,936 babies born at the Medical Center. By the end of the century, more than 7,000 babies are born each year at Saint Barnabas, more than at any other hospital in New Jersey.
1966 - Curtain Rises on a Dramatic Centennial Celebration
Saint Barnabas celebrates 100 years with a gala theater party at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn. Proceeds benefit the new Hyperbaric Chambers that open this same year. Planning begins for a 150-bed addition, the first of several major construction projects that will take place on the Livingston site.
1967- State’s First Hospital-Based School of Practical Nursing Created
The Saint Barnabas facility is the first hospital-based school in New Jersey established to train licensed practical nurses. In 1969, the first class of 30 LPNs receives its caps. Anna Marks, R.N., director of Nursing, leads the development of the new LPN school. Ruth Greenspan, R.N., serves as director. For 12 years, the school successfully trains LPNs before closing in 1979, reflecting a growing national trend toward four-year nursing programs.
1967- Saint Barnabas Performs New Jersey’s First Kidney Transplant
A ten-member surgical transplantation team led by Dennis Filippone, M.D, performs the state’s first kidney transplant.
1968 - John D. Phillips, M.H.A., Named Administrator
One year after having been hired as Saint Barnabas’ first assistant administrator, John Phillips is appointed Hospital Administrator.
1968 - Renal Dialysis and Transplantation Program Grows
The Ruth Gottscho Kidney Foundation gives two renal dialysis machines to Saint Barnabas, beginning more than 30 years of support for Saint Barnabas’ renal patients. Martin G. Jacobs, M.D., serves as director of the Renal Service and continues to provide leadership into the next century. Between 1967 and 2000, approximately 2,500 kidney or kidney/pancreas transplants are performed by the Saint Barnabas Health Care System Renal Transplant Center.
1968 - First Annual Employee Recognition Ceremony is Held
The program honors 107 employees who have served Saint Barnabas five years or more. By the end of the Century, close to 600 Saint Barnabas employees will be recognized for between five and 40 years of service.
1969 - First Major Addition Expands Saint Barnabas
The first major addition to Saint Barnabas in Livingston is completed at a cost of $3 million (including equipment), bringing the Medical Center’s bed capacity to almost 750.
1969 - OB/GYN Department Gains Nationwide Prominence
James L. Breen, M.D., is named chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, establishing a three-year residency program. Under his direction, the Department becomes a nationally recognized leader in high-risk births and gynecologic oncology. In 1982, Dr. Breen is elected president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
1969 - New Radiotherapy Department Begins
Louis J. Sanfilippo, M.D., chairs the new Radiotherapy Department, renamed the Department of Radiation Oncology in 1988. Under Dr. Sanfilippo’s 20 years of leadership, the Department’s residency program and School of Radiation Therapy Technology gain a national reputation.
1972 - New Telemetric Monitors Detect Heart Arrhythmias
The Intensive Coronary Care Unit and innovative secondary Heart Care Center are equipped with new, advanced telemetric monitors, providing a state-of-the-art method for early detection of heart arrhythmias.
1972 - Harvey Nussbaum, M.D., Provides Distinguished Leadership
A cardiologist on staff since 1964, Harvey Nussbaum, M.D., is appointed chief of Cardiology. He is appointed chairman of the Department of Medicine in 1977 and will serve in that role through 1988.
1974 - 
Saint Barnabas Initiates Top Pathology Program
Robert V.P. Hutter, M.D., becomes chairman of Pathology and leads the development of a cutting-edge Department of Pathology. Under his guidance, Pathology grows to become one of the leading diagnostic referral centers in the state and region. In 1984, Dr. Hutter is elected president of the American Cancer Society.
1974 - First Living Donor Kidney Transplant Performed
A renal transplant from a living donor is performed for the first time at Saint Barnabas.
1974 - The Burn Service Is Launched
The goal of the Service is to develop a statewide burn center.
1976 - Volunteer Chairman of Development Fund Leads Superb Effort
Milford A. Vieser becomes the volunteer chairman of the Saint Barnabas Development Fund, raising over $6 million by 1980. For more than five years, Mr. Vieser donates his services full time to Saint Barnabas while serving on the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees. One of his major goals is to raise $1 million needed to open The Burn Center. In 1976, the Ira W. DeCamp Foundation makes a $1 million grant to Saint Barnabas and The Burn Center opens the following year.
1977 - Saint Barnabas is Designated State’s Only Certified Burn Unit
Frederick W. Fuller, M.D., becomes its first director, serving in that role from 1977 to 1987. The Burn Center provides a technologically advanced 12-bed intensive care unit and a specially trained 75-member burn team of physicians, nurses, therapists and technicians. The Medical Center works closely with UMDNJ in the areas of clinical research, teaching, burn therapy and the Trauma Center.
1978 - First Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Opens
In response to the fast-growing birthrate, and with funding from the Saint Barnabas Auxiliary, the Medical Center opens its first Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
1979 - Oncology Unit is Created
Saint Barnabas opens the Oncology Unit dedicated to the comprehensive care, treatment and needs of cancer patients and their families. Seven years later, Richard Michaelson, M.D., is appointed Director of this specialized service, assisted by a team of clinical nurses, nurse educators, social workers, therapists and volunteers.
1979 - Joseph P. Lindner, Jr., M.D., Named President
Dr. Lindner assumes post of president of Saint Barnabas Medical Center.
1980 - Inpatient Admissions Climb
In a reversal of the national trend toward declining bed use, Saint Barnabas Medical Center experiences over 30,000 admissions.
1981 - Construction Sets Stage for Tremendous Growth
A $13 million addition opens -- enlarging the space for the Departments of Pathology and Radiology and allowing for the inclusion of advanced technologies in these highly specialized areas. Two new operating suites are added and the Emergency Department is expanded to accommodate the growing need for emergency services in the community.
Fredrick E. Rathgeber, chairman of the Board of Trustees, supervises the new construction and renovation program. He will oversee an in-depth study that will position Saint Barnabas Medical Center as New Jersey’s prominent health care leader.
1982 - Saint Barnabas Corporation is Established
The Saint Barnabas Board of Trustees votes to form a multi-corporation health care system. A parent company, the Saint Barnabas Corporation, is created to oversee the Medical Center and its affiliates, including the Saint Barnabas Outpatient Centers, Saint Barnabas Development Foundation, Saint Barnabas Burn Foundation (established in 1987) and Livingston Services Corporation, a for-profit entity. Martin Brody is elected chairman of the parent corporation.
1983 - Saint Barnabas Outpatient Centers Flourish
The Same Day Surgery Center and the Radiology Center – two major components of Saint Barnabas Outpatient Centers -- open at 101 Old Short Hills Road, directly across the street from the Medical Center. Saint Barnabas Outpatient Centers expand to include Saint Barnabas Senior Health and the Low Vision Center, directed by Gerald Fonda, M.D. The Joslin Center for Diabetes at Saint Barnabas, a new partnership between The Joslin Diabetes Center of Boston and Saint Barnabas Medical Center opens in 1989.
1984 - Patient Park and Gardens Are Created
Through generous memorial gifts to the Saint Barnabas Development Foundation
the Saint Barnabas Patient Park and Gardens are created for the enjoyment
of patients and their families. William K. Hutchison is elected first
chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation, responsible for raising
funds for the Medical Center’s capital needs and for special patient
services. An ongoing memorial fund, the Barbara R. Sloan Patient Comfort
fund, provides a continuing source of funds for special projects, including
the Saint Barnabas Smoke-Free Program in 1989.
