Executive Leadership

Mr. Garrett launched his career at Hackensack University Medical Center in 1981 and served as president and CEO of the Hackensack University Health Network from November 2009 through July 2016. Mr. Garrett dramatically expanded the network through a series of acquisitions, partnerships and affiliations. In July 2016, the network merged with Meridian Health creating Hackensack Meridian Health, which now includes 17 hospitals from Bergen to Ocean counties, 500 patient care locations and 34,000 team members. This extensive breadth of services enables the network to reach two-thirds of New Jersey residents.

Under Mr. Garrett’s visionary leadership, the network has forged exceptional partnerships to advance cancer and behavioral health treatment, medical education and innovation. In January 2019, Hackensack Meridian Health merged with the Carrier Clinic, New Jersey’s most respected behavioral health provider, to transform the treatment of addiction and mental illness in New Jersey and beyond. The partnership will result in the opening of new addiction treatment centers and New Jersey’s first urgent care for behavioral health.

Hackensack Meridian Health has also partnered with Seton Hall University and opened New Jersey’s first private medical school in decades, a four-year program which will revolutionize physician training. The curriculum at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University will emphasize collaboration and a holistic approach to care incorporating all spheres of a patient’s life with the strongest possible clinical training and state-of-the-art technology. The school, which opened in July 2018 and attracted 2,100 applicants for 60 slots, is located on the former campus of Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. in Nutley and Clifton. Mr. Garrett and his wife, Laura, contributed a $2.65 million endowment for the School of Medicine Dean, which launched total contributions of $15 million in support of endowments in 2017.

The campus is also home to the Hackensack Meridian Health Center for Discovery and Innovation, which will attract leading researchers from around the globe who will advance our knowledge of regenerative medicine, cancer and infectious disease and multiple myeloma. Additionally, the network’s partnership with the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center is on target to achieve NCI-designation in 2019.

In December 2016, Hackensack Meridian Health made history by announcing a 10-year strategic partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to develop an exceptional network-wide standard of care and to enhance research and discovery in New Jersey. Together, Hackensack Meridian Health and Memorial Sloan Kettering will serve the most patients with cancer in the region and will open a jointly-operated outpatient center in New Jersey in 2019. Many of their combined programs will be among the largest in the country with more than 800 clinical trials.

Always an innovator, Mr. Garrett also led the launch of a partnership with the New Jersey Innovation Institute, an affiliate of the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the state’s leading technology university. The Hackensack Meridian Health Board of Trustees committed $25 million, a new revenue stream to help companies develop trailblazing products and services. The fund has supported two breakthroughs, including Pillo, a health robot for the home and PurpleSun, the only company to develop technology with a 90-second disinfectant cycle utilizing a form of ultraviolet light energy to help reduce hospital-acquired infections.

These affiliations were in addition to the network’s already-established partnerships with: AllSpire Health Partners, the largest healthcare consortium of its kind in the country; CityMD (urgent care centers); CVS MinuteClinic; Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center (cardiac); Englewood Hospital and Medical Center (clinical and academic affiliation); MedStar Georgetown University Hospital (bone marrow transplant program); NYU Langone Medical Center’s Division of Pediatric Surgery; OMNIA Health Alliance (partnership with six health systems and Horizon BCBSNJ to develop tiered products); Summit Health Management (clinical affiliation); Uber (transportation); and United Surgical Partners International (ambulatory care centers).

Mr. Garrett also steered Hackensack University Health Network’s community health initiatives through HackensackUMC Fitness & Wellness Powered by the Giants in Maywood, NJ – one of the largest fitness and wellness centers of its kind in New Jersey. In 2017, Becker’s Hospital Review named Hackensack Meridian Health’s high-performing portfolio of accountable care organizations (ACO) to its list of 110 ACO’s to Know for the second year. The ACOs were selected for their quality and cost performance. HackensackAlliance ACO has nearly 575 affiliated physicians covering 85,000 lives. It has obtained an impressive quality score of 92 and generated $50 million in savings on approximately 28,000 patients in 2016, placing it 3 rd in the nation. Hackensack University Medical Center, the flagship hospital of the network, has nearly 8,000 employees and more than 1,600 physicians and is the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in the state. It has received some of the most prestigious designations and distinctions from the nation’s leading health care rating companies and was recognized by U.S. News & World Report in 2017 as New Jersey’s best hospital – for the sixth consecutive year – and the fourth best among New York’s finest.

Mr. Garrett’s leadership and strategic vision have garnered much professional praise. He was featured on ROINJ Influencers: Power List 2018 and was ranked #1 in the NJBIZ 2017 “Power 50 Health Care” list. He was also ranked on the 2017 “NJBIZPower 100: The most powerful people in New Jersey business” list for six consecutive years. Mr. Garrett received the 2017 Collaboration of the Year Award from the NJ Tech Council, a non-profit group that advocates for the state’s and region’s tech and life sciences business. He was listed as one of the 2017 “188 Nonprofit Hospital and Health System CEOs to Know and is also one of the “2014 500+ People to Know in Healthcare” according to Becker’s Hospital Review. In 2013, he was selected as a member of The Wall Street Journal CEO Council, an invite-only council representing some of the most wellrespected business leaders in America. He was the recipient of the 2013 Outstanding Medical Executive Award, part of the prestigious Edward J. Ill Excellence in Medicine Awards. Mr. Garrett has been honored by numerous organizations and agencies, and has been invited to participate at international and national events, such as the prestigious World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland; the Fourth International Vatican Conference, Unite to Cure: A Global Health Care Initiative. Becker’s Hospital Review’s Annual CEO & CFO Roundtable event; Healthgrades HealthShare Symposium; and Becker’s Hospital Review’s annual meeting. He has been featured on numerous television programs and within numerous national publications.

An industry leader and expert, Mr. Garrett has spoken at numerous conferences and events, including: NYU Stern Alumni Relations and the Stern Healthcare Association Conference; the Institute for Ethical Leadership at Rutgers Business School’s Ethical Leadership Conference; Meadowlands Regional Chamber’s Thought Leaders Conference; the Association for Corporate Growth’s NJ Bergen Chapter event; and the New Jersey Bankers Association’s Economic Forum Conference. Mr. Garrett serves on the boards of the Bank of America.

Trust Advisory Board, Bergen Community College Foundation, Choose New Jersey, The Eileen Fund, The New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, as well as the QualCare Board of Directors. He has also served on or is a member of: the New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals, New Jersey Hospital Association, Greater New York Hospital Association, and the American Hospital Association’s Regional Policy Board.

A respected thought leader, Mr. Garrett is a regular contributor to Becker’s Hospital Review and has written guest columns for a variety of media including Modern Healthcare; The Record, a USA Today Publication; and The Star Ledger, New Jersey’s largest daily media outlet.

Mr. Garrett received his Master of Health Administration from Washington University in Saint Louis, MO, and his bachelor’s degree from Binghamton University in New York.