Communication Between Leadership and Clinicians Improves Cancer Care

In May 2025, a new cancer center was opened as part of Hackensack Meridian Health John F. Kennedy (JFK) University Medical Center. At the opening ceremony, CancerNetwork® spoke with Robert C. Garrett, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health, and Joseph C. Landolfi, DO, CPE, chief medical officer and vice president of JFK University Medical Center.

When prompted about the importance of maintaining good communication between leadership and frontline clinicians, Garrett iterated that he is in a position to speak with elected officials and push for certain decisions that can benefit the health care system on a larger scale. Maintaining conversations with clinicians helps him receive input and feedback on what types of policies he should be advocating for.

For example, he mentioned an upcoming trip to Washington, DC, where he will have the opportunity to speak to senators and representatives about upcoming budget cuts.

Landolfi also spoke about ways leadership could support greater degrees of multidisciplinary collaboration. He suggested running conferences for multidisciplinary fields and integrating departments statewide.

Transcript:

Garrett: It is important that communication happens between those folks who are on the front lines delivering care and those of us who are in the policy seats. As an example, I’m going down to Washington, DC, next week to talk to some of our elected officials about some of the [budget] cuts that are being proposed. It’s important for me to get the input of those frontline caregivers before I speak to senators and representatives about those cuts that are being proposed.

Landolfi: I think the next level is [running] multidisciplinary conferences, which include all [types of] specialties, and that’s a very collaborative, multidisciplinary approach. The next step is now [having] John Theurer Cancer Center, HOPE Tower at [Jersey Shore University Medical Center], and our cancer center here at JFK come together with multidisciplinary teams across the network to expand those services across the state of New Jersey.

Reference

Hackensack Meridian Health expands cancer services with new facility at JFK University Medical Center. News release. Hackensack Meridian Health. May 2, 2025. Accessed May 7, 2025. https://tinyurl.com/3p9wjd2u