St. Joseph's Wins 2017 Innovation Award – Again!

St. Joseph’s wins 2017 Innovation Award – Again!

St. Joseph’s Health is the winner of the 2017 NJBIZ Healthcare Heroes Award, Innovation/Organization Category, for the second consecutive year! This prestigious recognition was presented at the NJBIZ Healthcare Heroes ceremony held in Somerset, NJ. “Clinical innovation has been a driving force behind St. Joseph’s throughout our 150-year history,” said Kevin J. Slavin, President and Chief Executive Officer, St. Joseph’s Health. “We are proud to be recognized for our innovative treatment model that takes action against the growing opioid epidemic. As the first program of its kind in the United States, St.Joseph’s has developed a truly unique approach to effectively alleviating pain without resorting to highly addictive medication.”

Launched in January 2016, the Alternatives to Opiates (ALTO) program uses targeted non-opioid medications trigger point injections, nitrous oxide, and ultrasound guided nerve blocks to tailor its patients’ pain management needs and avoid opioids whenever possible. The Emergency Department at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center - the busiest ED in New Jersey with more than 160,000 patient visits in 2016 - is an innovator in Emergency Medicine, having established such programs as the first Geriatric Emergency Department in the US, the first ED-based Palliative Care Program (Life Sustaining Management and Alternatives) in the US, and now, the innovative and nationally acclaimed ALTO program.