Hackensack Meridian Health’s Tackle Kids Cancer Serves as Official Charity for PGA TOUR Tournament

Hackensack Meridian Health was pleased to partner with the NORTHERN TRUST PGA TOUR tournament held at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, in support of Tackle Kids Cancer, a philanthropic initiative of the Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation dedicated to finding a cure for pediatric cancer.

“Given the PGA’s philanthropic culture and values, this is an ideal partnership,” said Ihor S.  Sawczuk, M.D., FACS, president of Hackensack University Medical Center. “We are deeply grateful to the organizers of this PGA event for their generosity and compassion.”

At the event, held August 23-26, patients and their siblings served on Saturday and Sunday as honorary flag holders on the 15th hole, exchanging high-fives with top golfers, who provided young fans with their own golf balls and golf gloves. Funds were collected at a tent on the 15th hole and Chippo, the golf-anywhere game-maker, donated a game a day to the highest scorer, as participants made donations along the way.

“Raising funds and awareness, this event provides an opportunity to engage our patients, their families, and our local sponsors, while leveraging the PGA’s global audience,” said Amy Glazer, interim executive director of the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital and Tackle Kids Cancer at the Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation.

In the weeks leading up to the event, several PGA partners committed their support to Tackle Kids Cancer. The NORTHERN TRUST provided a $25,000 gift. Konica Minolta renewed its participation in the Birdies that Benefit Tackle Kids Cancer campaign, providing a matching gift to employee donations. Shake Shack developed an in-store promotion to benefit Tackle Kids Cancer, with one-dollar from every Caddy Shake sold donated to the cause.  They also visited patients and delivered the treats.

The PGA Wives’ Association, in conjunction with sponsor Kendra Scott Jewelry, hosted a party for patients and their families in the lobby of the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital.  The event included opportunities for participants to make their own Kendra Scott piece, and practice their putting skills.

Tackle Kids Cancer, the official charity of the PGA event, raises funds for pediatric research at the Children’s Cancer Institute at the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center. The Children’s Cancer Institute was the first center conducting bone marrow transplants for the new immunotherapy CAR-T treatment in New Jersey. Its growing research program includes pioneering work in neuro-oncology.  Funds raised will help to expand innovative treatment initiatives at the Children’s Cancer Institute.

ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH

Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care.

Hackensack Meridian Health comprises 16 hospitals from Bergen to Ocean counties, which includes three academic medical centers – Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, JFK Medical Center in Edison; two children’s hospitals - Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital in Hackensack, K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital in Neptune; nine community hospitals - Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair, Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin, Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge, and Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood; and two rehabilitation hospitals - JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison and Shore Rehabilitation Institute in Brick.

Additionally, the network has more than 450 patient care locations throughout the state which include ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, fitness and wellness centers, rehabilitation centers, urgent care centers and physician practice locations. Hackensack Meridian Health has 33,000 team members, and 6,500 physicians and is a distinguished leader in health care philanthropy, committed to the health and well-being of the communities it serves.

The network’s notable distinctions include having one of only five major academic medical centers in the nation to receive Healthgrades America’s 50 Best Hospitals Award for five or more consecutive years, four hospitals among the top 10 in New Jersey by U.S. News and World Report. Other honors include consistently achieving Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, recipient of the John M. Eisenberg Award for Patient Safety and Quality from The Joint Commission and the National Quality Forum, a six-time recipient of Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For,” one of the “20 Best Workplaces in Health Care” in the nation, and the number one “Best Place to Work for Women.” The network was also named to Becker’s Healthcare’s “150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare/2018” list.

Hackensack Meridian Health partnered with Seton Hall University to launch the first private medical school in New Jersey – Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University - in more than 50 years to address a growing shortage of physicians and dramatic changes in health care delivery. Additionally, the network partnered with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer to find more cures for cancer faster while ensuring that patients have access to the highest quality, most individualized cancer care when and where they need it. Hackensack Meridian Health and Carrier Clinic, New Jersey’s oldest and most respected behavioral health provider, signed a definitive agreement to merge.

Hackensack Meridian Health is a member of AllSpire Health Partners, an interstate consortium of leading health systems, to focus on the sharing of best practices in clinical care and achieving efficiencies.

For additional information, please visit www.HackensackMeridianHealth.org.