Newark Beth Israel Medical Center has opened a new hybrid cardiac catheterization lab, a 730-square-foot surgical suite that combines minimally invasive catheterization imaging with operating-room capabilities. The lab is part of the hospital's sprawling $200 million Newark Strong construction project.
According to RWJBarnabas Health, the new suite pairs advanced imaging equipment with full operating-room capabilities, allowing the hospital's cardiovascular team to perform procedures ranging from transcatheter aortic valve repair and complex coronary angioplasty to left atrial appendage closure and electrophysiology work. Dr. Sergio Waxman said the hybrid suite combines cardiac catheterization imaging capabilities with modern operating-room capacity, according to the same RWJBarnabas Health announcement. The integrated design brings those imaging and operating-room functions together in one suite.
Darrell K. Terry Sr. said the hybrid cardiac catheterization lab represents a significant advancement in patient care, per the hospital's own announcement, and Conor Barrett said access to the best care is a core focus at RWJBarnabas Health. The new lab sits alongside a cardiac catheterization lab recovery area the hospital opened in 2025, which includes 16 recovery bays, a radial lounge for patients recovering from radial artery procedures, and a dedicated pediatric bay. That expanded recovery footprint is built to support more than 4,000 cardiac procedures a year, the hospital's report notes.
A Volume Built On Decades Of Cardiac Firsts
The numbers behind that expansion are already substantial. Newark Beth Israel performed 3,900 cardiac catheterization lab procedures and more than 370 complex cardiac procedures in 2025, and its heart transplant center has now performed more than 1,100 transplants total, the hospital's report states. That volume traces back decades: the hospital established New Jersey's first heart transplant program, and pioneering cardiac surgeon Dr. Victor Parsonnet performed the state's first heart transplant there in 1986 along with the world's first permanent transvenous pacemaker implantation, according to Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. Parsonnet died in December 2024 at age 100 after shaping the hospital's cardiac surgery department for decades.
By August 1, 2017, the hospital had performed more than 1,000 heart transplants, making it the 12th U.S. medical center to reach that milestone, as reported by PR Newswire, whose account describes the program as one of the ten busiest in the country. The hospital's roots go back further still: it was incorporated on October 25, 1901, by Newark's Jewish community as a 21-bed non-sectarian hospital at High and West Kinney streets, according to Knowing Newark. Ground was broken for its Lyons and Schuyler avenues building in 1923.
Why South Ward Cardiac Care Carries High Stakes
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in New Jersey, according to NIH HDPulse. Average life expectancy in Essex County is 78.1 years, 1.3 years shorter than the New Jersey state average, while 11.6 percent of residents are uninsured compared to a 7.4 percent statewide rate, per Map AI. Newark Beth Israel serves its community and provides specialized care.
Newark Beth Israel provides adult and pediatric cardiac care, and it also houses New Jersey's only Advanced Lung Disease and Transplant Program, according to RWJBarnabas Health's entity background. The hospital has a cancer-care partnership with Rutgers Cancer Institute and is home to the Children's Hospital of New Jersey, which provides more than 30 specialized pediatric services, per the RWJBarnabas Health announcement. It also holds Joint Commission disease-specific certification for congestive heart failure, stroke, and ventricular assist device care, and carries cardiac catheterization lab accreditation from the American College of Cardiology — one of 11 RWJBarnabas Health medical centers to hold that accreditation.
Newark Strong's Broader $200 Million Footprint
The hybrid lab is one piece of the larger Newark Strong initiative, part of the hospital's $200 million expansion. The broader master plan, designed by architectural firm FCA and built by Turner Construction, includes an 80,200-square-foot renovation and a 24,300-square-foot emergency department addition, per Healthcare Design Magazine, which reports the project replaced a fortress-like exterior with transparent glass facades and pocket parks. RWJBarnabas Health's own announcement describes redesigned and expanded adult and pediatric emergency departments, a new cardiothoracic intensive care unit, and a state-of-the-art geriatric unit as part of the same project, along with a 17,500-square-foot glass-enclosed lobby.
Newark Beth Israel committed 30 percent of its total construction subcontracting costs to Newark-based, minority-, female-, and veteran-owned businesses under Newark Strong, including hiring South Ward woman-owned contractor Josloff Glass for lobby glazing, according to The Positive Community. That local procurement push reflected an explicit effort by hospital leadership to ensure surrounding neighborhoods benefited economically from the capital investment, the outlet reported.
Newark Beth Israel is a 665-bed regional care teaching hospital and part of the RWJBarnabas Health Heart & Vascular service line, with one of the nation's top 15 heart transplant centers by RWJBarnabas Health's own account. It also runs the most experienced robotic surgery program in northern New Jersey and offers community-facing programs such as the Beth Greenhouse, which provides access to fresh produce and health and wellness education. The hospital offers patient referrals by phone at 973-926-7852.
