Since our beginnings as a 12-bed hospital in a house on East Main Street in Somerville, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset has transformed into a nationally recognized 339-bed hospital that is part of RWJBarnabas Health, the largest academic health system in New Jersey.

As the only acute care hospital in Somerset County, we have been privileged to care for generations of families, providing the health care services they need throughout their lives, from emergency care to maternity services, cancer care and surgical services.

Our History

In 1899, outraged by the death of a 16-year-old Somerville boy who died of a head injury because he couldn’t get emergency treatment, a small group of physicians and community members formed a board of trustees and incorporated Somerset Hospital. David Messler, who owned “The Somerset Democrat,” a weekly newspaper, helped to rally the community to raise funds to purchase a house on East Main Street in Somerville and convert it into a hospital. It opened its doors in 1901 with a staff of 10 doctors and 12 beds.

A nursing school was started in 1911, with the head nurse also serving as superintendent of the hospital. After a 56-year history, the last class graduated from the Somerset Hospital School of Nursing in 1970.

Many additions were made to the little house between 1911 and 1925, reaching a capacity of 24 beds.

The community again supported a fundraising campaign and in August of 1925 a “new” Somerset Hospital was opened, accommodating 100 patients. It boasted a modern lab, delivery room and nursery with men and women’s wards, a well-equipped kitchen and state-of-the-art operating rooms.

As the need for health care services continued to increase, the hospital expanded to 190 beds in 1946. A new east wing opened in 1963, increasing capacity to 300.

Fifty more beds were added in 1972.

In 1975, the American Medical Association approved establishment of the hospital’s three year Family Practice Residency Program. A medical education building was built in 1977. In 1978 a short-term psychiatric care program was developed.

In January 1985, the medical center opened a Same Day Surgery Center, anticipating the growing trend in outpatient procedures and surgeries. The Same Day Center was the first phase of a $15 million expansion and modernization project which also included the Clinical Laboratory, one of the largest and best-equipped hospital-based clinical laboratories in the state, and the $7.5 million Center for Diagnostic Imaging. In June 1990, the project's final phase was completed: a 3,000-square-foot-addition to the Emergency Department.

A three-year $46 million project was launched in 1994, including 58,000 square feet of new construction, 100,000 square feet of renovations and $10 million in new medical technologies. Completed in 1997, the project's areas of expansion, new construction and renovation included the Same Day Center, G.I. Center, Cancer Services, Baby Suites, Breast Care Program, Critical Care Pavilion, major surgery suite and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) service; Pediatric, Orthopedic, Post-Anesthesia and Medical/Surgical patient care units; Rehabilitation Services, including Physical and Occupational Therapy; and the Eating Disorders Program.

Modernization continued in the 1990s with another expansion of the Emergency Department, and completion of a $6.5 million parking deck that provides parking for the convenience of patients, their families and visitors. The medical center also introduced new technologies; programs and services including a low-risk adult Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, DEXA scan technology and a comprehensive Osteoporosis Program, radioactive prostate seed implantation and a Sleep Disorders Center.

In 1999, a spacious new main entrance and main lobby addition was completed, providing a beautiful, modern and comfortable lobby that is a central location for outpatients and inpatients to conveniently access admitting and testing services.

In 2002, Somerset Medical Center announced an agreement to build a Sports Performance & Rehabilitation Center at TD Bank Ballpark, home of the Somerset Patriots baseball team.

Committed to providing the highest quality care to residents throughout Central New Jersey, the medical center has made significant investments in new technologies and new facilities. In 2005, the medical center completed a four-year $100 million expansion and renovation project - the largest in its history. The centerpiece of this expansion was the medical center's new 40,000-square-foot Emergency Department, which opened in early 2005. The facility opened as one of the largest, best-equipped emergency departments in New Jersey, featuring a 14-bed Express Care area for patients with minor ailments; onsite radiology and laboratory services; specialized treatment areas for children and patients with cardiac, gynecologic, psychiatric and orthopedic emergencies; and a spacious waiting area.

A new 70-bed inpatient pavilion also opened in 2005, offering hotel-caliber amenities for oncology and medical/surgical patients, including full bathrooms, flat-screen televisions, DVD players and sleeper sofas allowing family members to stay overnight. Seven new operating suites were added, expanding the medical center's capabilities to perform the latest minimally invasive surgical procedures.

In 2006, the medical center became one of nine New Jersey hospitals without onsite cardiac surgery to begin performing elective coronary angioplasties as part of a three-year, multi-state clinical trial. The hospital now offers both emergency and elective coronary angioplasty.

In 2007, the medical center opened The Steeplechase Cancer Center, a $28 million facility that centralized all outpatient cancer care services in one location for the first time, including radiation therapy, the Sanofi US Breast Care Program, infusion therapy, the medical center's oncology research team, oncologists' offices, the Sanofi US Wellness Boutique, complementary medicine services, and nutritional counseling. The facility is named after our largest benefactor, the Far Hills Race Meeting Association, which has donated more than $18 million to the hospital since the 1950s.

The medical center introduced robotic surgery in 2010, becoming one of only a few community hospitals to offer this advanced technology.

Somerset Medical Center nurses received nursing’s most prestigious honor – Magnet® recognition by the American Nurses Credentialing Center – in 2011. It has subsequently been redesignated twice as a Magnet hospital.

The Edward and Anita Hogan Neuroscience Pavilion, which opened in 2012, enhances care for patients who have had a stroke or other neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease or seizure disorders.

In 2012, the medical center expanded its physical therapy services with the addition of Sports Physical Therapy locations in Hillsborough, Flemington and Princeton.

In 2012, Somerset Medical Center began exploring partnerships to position the hospital for future success.

Somerset Medical Center, like every community hospital across the country, faced growing challenges as a result of health care reform and the movement towards accountable care organizations. This movement favored larger, well capitalized health care systems while creating a number of additional challenges for smaller, independent community hospitals. Against this backdrop, Somerset Medical Center sought out a partnership that would enable it to expand certain clinical services, integrate inpatient and outpatient care, improve efficiency and quality while attracting and retaining high-caliber physicians and staff.

In 2013, Somerset Medical Center’s Board of Trustees made the decision to merge with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. The merger was finalized on June 1, 2014. The medical center is now known as Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset.

The Center for Wound Healing, an outpatient center offering state-of-the-art treatment options for patients with chronic, non-healing wounds, opened on the hospital’s campus in 2015.

Robert Wood Johnson Health System and Barnabas Health merged on March 31, 2016, creating the most comprehensive health system in New Jersey– RWJBarnabas Health. With a reach of approximately 5 million people - more than half of the state’s population – the partnership has helped to advance the health of the region, especially in Somerset County as well as across the state.

Over the past decade, the hospital has experienced a remarkable period of growth and transformation, which included:

• Renovations to the hospital’s Maternity Pavilion (2016)
  
• The addition of a new Walgreen’s pharmacy in the hospital’s Emergency Department (2016)
• The opening of the state’s first health care facility dedicated to providing specialized primary care services to the LGBTQIA community, now known as the Babs Siperstein PROUD Center (2017)
  
• Relocation of the Vascular Laboratory to a newly renovated space on the hospital’s lobby level (2017)
• New Chinese (2018), Indian (2019) and Hispanic (2021) Medical Programs with a bilingual patient navigators who will assist in coordinating care for Chinese, Indian and Hispanic patients.
• Launch of a Healing Homes transitional housing initiative (2019)
• The Same Day Surgery Center moved into newly renovated 11,000-square-foot space on the hospital’s third floor. (2019)
• Renovations to the 1-East Geriatric Unit (2020)
  
• Relocation of Rehabilitation Services to a newly renovated 4,800-square-foot space on the hospital’s third floor. (2020)
  
• Renovations to its Endoscopy Suite (2020)
• Renovations to its Behavioral Health Unit to add 12 beds, increasing the unit’s capacity to 28 beds.(2020)
• Renovations to its Eating Disorders Unit, expanding its capacity from 14 to 20 beds and providing separate spaces for adolescents and adults. (2023)
  
• The opening of a renovated outpatient office suite in the Steeplechase Cancer Center that expanded medical oncology and infusion services (2023)
• Moving its Outpatient Behavioral Health Services to newly renovated space on the hospital’s campus, offering expanded services for the community. (2023)
• Completion of a 5-year Cardiology Services expansion project. The project included the renovation of the hospital’s 2-East and 2-West Cardiac Pavilions, renovations to the Cardiac Catheterization Lab and relocation of its Cardiac Diagnostic Testing Department to renovated space, consolidating all Cardiology Services on the hospital’s second floor. (2023)
  
• Construction of a two-story, 76,000-square-foot vertical expansion above the hospital’s existing Orthopedics Pavilion and Emergency Department (ED) building. Completed in fall 2024, the space includes 45 all-private rooms for post-surgical and medical/surgical patients and a state-of-the-art rehab gym for patients who have had joint replacement therapy.(2024)
  

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