On April 21, Jefferson Health Cherry Hill Hospital hosted art students and teachers from Cherry Hill High School West for an unveiling & luncheon to celebrate the completion of the students’ multi-medium waiting room mural which the students began in September 2025.
Continue reading “Mural Created by High School Students Unveiled at Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital”
Virtua Health is proud to announce that the Midwifery Birth & Wellness Center has once again earned accreditation from the Commission for the Accreditation of Birth Centers (CABC). This 2026 reaccreditation affirms the Center’s ongoing commitment to delivering exceptional, evidence-based, family-centered maternity care.
Located in Voorhees, the Virtua Midwifery Birth & Wellness Center first achieved CABC accreditation in 2023, becoming the first and only free-standing birth center in the state to receive this prestigious designation. The 2026 reaccreditation underscores the center’s sustained dedication to meeting and exceeding national standards for safety, quality, and patient experience.
Continue reading “Virtua Midwifery Birth & Wellness Center Earns Reaccreditation”
Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital has received certification as a Comprehensive Stroke Center (CSC) – the highest available level – from The Joint Commission, a prestigious international accrediting organization.
The Camden hospital has earned the commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Comprehensive Stroke Care by demonstrating continuous compliance with the commission’s performance standards. The Gold Seal is a symbol of quality that reflects a health care organization’s commitment to providing safe, high-quality patient care.
Continue reading “Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Receives Comprehensive Stroke Certification”
On Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22, the American Lung Association in New Jersey will release the 27th annual “State of the Air” report, which tracks exposure to unhealthy ozone and particle pollution. The report serves as a “report card,” ranking air quality in metro areas and grading counties across the state. Additionally, the report ranks the most polluted and cleanest cities across the country.
Continue reading “American Lung Association to Release NJ Air Pollution Report”
Jefferson Health has announced its latest New Jersey recipients of the DAISY Award, an international recognition program that honors nurses for their extraordinary clinical skill and compassionate care, and recipients of the Being Extraordinary Everyday (BEE) Award, which recognizes non-nursing staff who work alongside nurses to likewise enhance the patient experience. Recipients are selected by Jefferson’s Clinical Recognition Committee in New Jersey to celebrate team members who go “above and beyond” in delivering compassionate, patient-centered care.
Continue reading “Jefferson Health Recognizes South Jersey Team Members”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is retracting the public health alert issued on April 1, 2026, for Walmart Great Value Fully Cooked Dino Shaped Chicken Breast Nuggets with “Best If Used By” date “Feb 10 2027” produced by Dorada Foods after confirming that the product does not pose a public health concern.
The public health alert was originally issued based on routine surveillance sampling conducted by the New York State Department of Public Health that indicated elevated trace levels of lead. Because this product is commonly consumed by children, FSIS issued the alert to inform consumers of a potential risk.
Continue reading “Health Alert for Frozen, Ready-To-Eat Chicken Nuggets”
On National Doctors Day, Make-A-Wish New Jersey and Hackensack Meridian Health celebrate 13-year old Alexander Alvarez from Carteret, New Jersey, who took on the title of doctor for the day as Make-A-Wish New Jersey and Hackensack Meridian Health partnered to grant his wish to become a trauma surgeon.
For a child who has bravely battled leukemia, the last place you might expect them to want to be is back in a hospital. Yet, for Alex, his one true wish was to trade his patient gown for surgeon’s scrubs. Alex got hands-on experience and was immediately immersed as ‘Dr. Alex’ for the day.
Continue reading “Make-A-Wish Grants 13-Year-Old Leukemia Survivor’s Dream for a Day”
This Women’s History Month, Hackensack Meridian Health is proud to recognize its exceptional team of 46 female robotic surgeons building a more inclusive and innovative future for surgery.
While robotic-assisted surgery is a rapidly advancing field, it often presents significant barriers to entry for women seeking training and mentorship. A recent study found, women robotic surgeons only perform around 10% of robotic surgeries. Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH) stands as a clear exception, with its robust and diverse team of 46 female robotic surgeons reflecting a deep-seated commitment to fostering an empowering and equitable environment.
Continue reading “Hackensack Meridian’s Female Robotic Surgeons Lead Surgical Innovation”The SARS-CoV-2 variant BA.3.2 was first identified in South Africa on November 22, 2024. BA.3.2 has approximately 70–75 substitutions and deletions in the gene sequence of the spike protein relative to JN.1 and its descendant, LP.8.1, the antigens used in the 2025–26 COVID-19 vaccines. CDC is using a multimodal SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance approach to monitor the emergence and spread of BA.3.2 and other SARS-CoV-2 variants internationally and within the United States. The first U.S. BA.3.2 detection occurred on June 27, 2025, through CDC’s Traveler-Based Genomic Surveillance program in a participant traveling to the United States from the Netherlands. The first U.S. detection of BA.3.2 in a clinical specimen collected from a patient was reported on January 5, 2026. As of February 11, 2026, BA.3.2 had been detected in voluntarily self-collected nasal swabs from four U.S. travelers, clinical samples from five patients, three airplane wastewater samples, and 132 wastewater surveillance samples from 25 states. BA.3.2 has been reported by at least 23 countries. SARS-CoV-2 continues to cause substantial morbidity and mortality worldwide. BA.3.2 mutations in the spike protein have the potential to reduce protection from a previous infection or vaccination. Continued genomic surveillance is needed to track SARS-CoV-2 evolution and determine its potential effect on public health.
Continue reading “CDC: ANOTHER STRAIN OF COVID DISCOVERED IN NEW JERSEY”
U.S. News & World Report recently released its third annual list of “Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) 2026.” This year, 13 of Virtua’s 42 Ambulatory Surgery Centers achieved High Performing status in at least one specialty—an increase of seven from last year. Performance strengths were distributed across Orthopedics & Spine, Ophthalmology, Colonoscopy & Endoscopy, and Urology, reflecting system‑wide improvement and depth across service lines. These ratings serve as a vital resource for the millions of Americans opting for same-day surgical care in these specialties.
Continue reading “13 Virtua Surgery Centers Earn High-Performing U.S. News 2026 Ranking”