Steel is rising in Camden, and so is the vision for the future of health care in South Jersey.
That vision will be the focus tonight as more than 1,000 guests gather at TRIAD1828 on the Camden waterfront for the 16th Annual Cooper Red Hot Gala. Since its founding by co-chairs George E. Norcross III and Philip A. Norcross, Esq., the event has raised nearly $33 million to support Cooper University Health Care and its continued expansion. This year, The Cooper Foundation expects to raise nearly $4 million.
During the evening, Cooper will unveil a new video featuring architectural renderings of the patient tower now taking shape on its Camden campus. The 10-story tower is a cornerstone of Project Imagine, Cooper’s $3 billion investment to transform health care throughout the region.
“Project Imagine is no longer simply a vision. It is becoming a reality, floor by floor,” said George E. Norcross III, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Cooper University Health Care. “This new patient tower represents far more than a changing skyline. It reflects Cooper’s commitment to expanding access to the most sophisticated care, advancing medical innovation, and building a health system prepared to serve South Jersey for generations to come.”
The tower will expand Cooper’s inpatient, intensive care, operating room, and procedural capacity, creating more space for highly specialized treatments, complex surgeries, clinical education, and research. Its high-tech, patient-centered environment will bring together advanced medical capabilities with spaces designed around the experience of patients, families, and care teams.
“Project Imagine represents one of the most significant investments ever made in health care in South Jersey,” said Philip A. Norcross, Esq., chairman of The Cooper Foundation Board. “These new facilities will transform Cooper’s campus, but philanthropy will help bring them fully to life—advancing lifesaving programs, groundbreaking research, innovative technology, and the resources our care teams need to change lives.”
All patient rooms will be private and will include technology that will help patients remain connected throughout their stay, allowing family members to join important conversations from a distance and feel present even when they cannot be at the bedside.
Planned capabilities will also help streamline clinical documentation, give care teams more immediate access to relevant medical information, and enable surgical procedures to be viewed in real time for medical education and collaboration—extending the learning taking place inside the operating room.
“Everything we do at Cooper comes back to our mission to serve, to heal, and to educate,” said Anthony J. Mazzarelli, MD, JD, MBE, co-CEO of Cooper University Health Care. “The generosity of our supporters allows us to turn that mission into action—helping us provide exceptional care, advance medicine, educate the next generation of health care professionals, and make a meaningful difference in the lives of our patients and their families.”
As South Jersey’s population grows and demand for specialized services increases, Cooper is investing in the facilities, technology, and workforce necessary to care for more patients close to home.
That impact will extend well beyond the walls of the hospital. Project Imagine is creating jobs, opening pathways to careers in the skilled trades, developing the region’s next-generation workforce, and reinforcing Camden’s role as a center for health care, education, research, and economic opportunity.
“Tonight is about celebrating the people who believe in Cooper and invest in our future,” said Kevin M. O’Dowd, JD, co-CEO of Cooper University Health Care. “Their support helps us advance innovative care, strengthen our programs, educate the next generation of health care professionals, and pursue new opportunities to better serve our patients and our community. We are grateful for the extraordinary commitment our supporters make to Cooper and to the future of health care in our region.”
The Cooper Red Hot Gala brings together community leaders, corporate partners, clinicians, and supporters whose generosity helps turn ambitious ideas into tangible resources for patients. Philanthropic support advances medical technology, new treatment programs, research, education, and spaces designed to promote comfort, connection, and healing.
“Tonight, our supporters will see that their generosity is not simply helping build new facilities—it is helping shape what becomes possible within them,” said Lisa Morina, senior vice president and chief philanthropy officer of The Cooper Foundation. “Their partnership will bring the full strength of an academic health system within reach for more people across our region, keep families connected during difficult moments, and give our care teams the resources to pursue new treatments, discoveries, and possibilities for our patients.”
The Foundation also extends gratitude to its corporate partners: Torcon P. Agnes Joint Venture, GHR Healthcare, and Pure Project Management.
About Project Imagine
Project Imagine is Cooper University Health Care’s unprecedented $3 billion investment to transform its Camden Health Sciences Campus, expand access to advanced care, and help meet South Jersey’s evolving health care needs.
Work currently underway includes two major projects:
- A new 10-story patient tower featuring private inpatient rooms, expanded intensive care capacity, advanced operating and procedural spaces, and high-tech infrastructure designed to support emerging medical technologies, clinical education, and collaboration. A new bridge will connect the tower with MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper.
- The Benson Pavilion, a transformational 217,000-square-foot, four-story addition and renovation project designed to expand essential clinical and support services on Cooper’s Camden campus. The project will include expanded emergency and trauma departments with embedded surgical and interventional services; additional surgical and procedural space; acuity-adaptable beds; a new cafeteria and public spaces; expanded laboratory, pharmacy, radiology, central sterile processing, and other clinical support areas; and added infrastructure resiliency.
Together, these projects will create a more connected, efficient, and technologically advanced environment for patients, families, clinicians, and team members. The broader Project Imagine vision will continue to reshape Cooper’s Camden campus while creating jobs, expanding workforce opportunities, and strengthening Camden as a regional center for health care, education, research, and innovation.
About The Cooper Foundation
The Cooper Foundation serves as the philanthropic arm of Cooper University Health Care, connecting generous individuals, families, corporations, and community partners with opportunities to transform health care. Philanthropic support advances exceptional patient care, groundbreaking research, medical education, community programs, and the facilities and technology shaping Cooper’s future. Together with its donors, the Foundation is helping ensure that patients and families throughout South Jersey can access world-class care close to home. Visit foundation.cooperhealth.org to learn more.
About Cooper University Health Care
Cooper University Health Care is a leading academic health system affiliated with Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. Cooper, headquartered in Camden, New Jersey, has revenues of more than $3 billion and an A+ credit rating from both S&P and Fitch Ratings.
Cooper has nearly 14,000 team members, including more than 2,200 nurses, more than 1,200 employed physicians representing 95 specialties and subspecialties, and more than 700 advanced practice providers.
Cooper operates MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper as well as three hospitals – its 663-bed flagship Cooper University Hospital in Camden, its 229-bed Cooper University Hospital Cape Regional in Cape May Court House, and Children’s Regional Hospital in Camden.
Cooper University Hospital in Camden is the only Level 1 trauma center in South Jersey and the busiest in the region. The hospital has been recognized as a top-performing regional hospital by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals annual survey for six years.
More than 2.54 million patients visit Cooper’s facilities annually. Cooper’s ambulatory network encompasses three outpatient surgery centers, seven urgent care centers, a wound care center, and more than 130 physician, physical therapy, and radiology offices extending from the Delaware River to the New Jersey shore.
Cooper was named one of America’s Best Large Employers for 2026 by Forbes, ranking among the top 200 in the nation. Visit CooperHealth.org to learn more.