SECAUCUS, N.J. and NUTLEY, N.J., Dec. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH), the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, and Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, are teaming up to enhance the quality and value of diagnostic services to patients and their doctors.

Quest Diagnostics will manage laboratory operations and perform reference testing for 11 Hackensack Meridian Health hospitals under the long-term full laboratory management agreement. Financial terms of the arrangement were not disclosed.

"Our partnership with Quest helps Hackensack Meridian Health continue to live our mission which is to transform health care in New Jersey and beyond,'' said Robert C. Garrett, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health.  "By working with Quest, a leader in diagnostic testing and information services, our network will continue to deliver the high-quality, convenient and accessible health care our communities expect.  Our partnership with Quest proved invaluable during this pandemic in assuring quick and accurate test results for our patients and team members.''

Quest will utilize its New Jersey testing infrastructure by moving non time-sensitive testing from medical centers within the HMH system to its laboratory in Teterboro, and its new flagship laboratory in Clifton in 2021.  The 250,000 square-foot Clifton laboratory will be co-located on the ON3 campus along with the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine.      

"We are pleased to partner with Hackensack Meridian Health, a nationally renowned health system with a keen focus on providing high-quality care, and we welcome the team members who will be joining Quest on January 1," said Quest Diagnostics Chairman, CEO and President Steve Rusckowski. "Being co-located with the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine provides many opportunities to collaborate and improve patient outcomes. This is our largest professional laboratory services agreement to date, and we look forward to serving our new partner and neighbor." 

About Quest Diagnostics 

Quest Diagnostics empowers people to take action to improve health outcomes. Derived from the world's largest database of clinical lab results, our diagnostic insights reveal new avenues to identify and treat disease, inspire healthy behaviors and improve health care management. Quest annually serves one in three adult Americans and half the physicians and hospitals in the United States, and our 47,000 employees understand that, in the right hands and with the right context, our diagnostic insights can inspire actions that transform lives. www.QuestDiagnostics.com.

ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH

Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care.

Hackensack Meridian Health comprises 17 hospitals from Bergen to Ocean counties, which includes three academic medical centers – Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, JFK Medical Center in Edison; two children's hospitals - Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital in Hackensack, K. Hovnanian Children's Hospital in Neptune; nine community hospitals – Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair, Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, and Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin; a behavioral health hospital – Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead; and two rehabilitation hospitals - JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison and Shore Rehabilitation Institute in Brick.

Additionally, the network has more than 500 patient care locations throughout the state which include ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, fitness and wellness centers, rehabilitation centers, urgent care centers and physician practice locations. Hackensack Meridian Health has more than 36,000 team members, and over 7,000 physicians and is a distinguished leader in health care philanthropy, committed to the health and well-being of the communities it serves.

The network's notable distinctions include having four hospitals among the top in New Jersey by U.S. News and World Report. Other honors include consistently achieving Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and being named to Becker's Healthcare's "150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare/2019" list.

The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine opened in 2018, the first private medical school in New Jersey in more than 50 years, welcomed its third class of students in 2020 to its On3 campus in Nutley and Clifton. Additionally, the network partnered with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to find more cures for cancer faster while ensuring that patients have access to the highest quality, most individualized cancer care when and where they need it.

Hackensack Meridian Health is a member of AllSpire Health Partners, an interstate consortium of leading health systems, to focus on the sharing of best practices in clinical care and achieving efficiencies.

For additional information, please visit www.HackensackMeridianHealth.org.

SOURCE Quest Diagnostics; Hackensack Meridian Health