Creating an Accommodating Pediatric Cancer Care Experience

In May 2025, RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Cancer Institute opened the Jack & Sheryl Morris Cancer Center in New Brunswick, New Jersey. One of 13 freestanding cancer hospitals across the US and the first in New Jersey, the new facility is intended to combine inpatient and outpatient cancer services with advanced research laboratories within an environment that prioritizes patient-centered care.

At the center’s opening ceremony, CancerNetwork® spoke with Steven K. Libutti, MD, FACS, and Andrew M. Evens, DO, MBA, MSc, to learn more about the facility’s pediatric care wing and how its unique design may deliver an accommodating experience for younger patients with cancer.

Libutti, who is the William N. Hait Director of Rutgers Cancer Institute and senior vice president of oncology services at RWJBarnabas Health, described how the Jersey Shore served as the inspiration for the pediatric wing’s layout to create a space that patients would not “dread going to.” The wing features amenities with a boardwalk theme and includes arcade games and toys, which may help provide a comforting experience for younger patients and their loved ones.

Evens, the deputy director for clinical services at Rutgers Cancer Institute, the system director of medical oncology and oncology lead at RWJBarnabas Health Medical Group, and the chief physician officer of the Jack & Sheryl Morris Cancer Center, elaborated on the pediatric wing’s accommodations. On top of providing physical, state-of-the-art treatment, Evens emphasized how the wing’s design serves to emotionally help younger patients who are undergoing therapy.

Transcript:

Libutti: We wanted to disarm the cancer experience for our youngest patients. Our pediatric unit is based on a day at the Jersey Shore. It’s a Jersey Shore theme with a boardwalk, an arcade, and a toy store. The idea is to try to make it something you don’t dread going to but something that is accommodating to the patient, their family, and their siblings.

Evens: We’re so pleased to be able to include pediatric cancer care in the Jack & Sheryl Morris Cancer Center. Everything we’ve done—adult and pediatric [care]—has been through the lens of the patient and the family. They’ve been involved since day 1. We held charrettes at The Heldrich Hotel in New Brunswick, [New Jersey]. We’d walk through 3D mock-up models, and [there] it was decided—and we’re so happy—[on] a Jersey Shore boardwalk theme in the pediatric cancer care [wing]. When you walk in, there are beautiful, high-resolution images of the Jersey Shore and other game rooms. There is a toy store and anything and everything you need to help disarm the patient and families. Obviously, cancer care can be tough. We wanted to make sure we’re providing not just that physical, incredible state-of-the-art care but also emotionally helping patients navigate through their journey, especially our youngest [patients receiving] cancer care.

Reference

RWJBarnabas Health, Rutgers Cancer Institute celebrate opening of New Jersey’s first and only freestanding cancer hospital. News release. RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Cancer Institute. May 13, 2025. Accessed May 15, 2025. https://tinyurl.com/bdf47yr4